Worlds Together
by AminalLuv
Summary: He's in college, she's in high school. He's an Eli, she's Harvard bound. He's a playboy, she's a commitment girl. He belongs to society and she hates his kind. Can an unexpected friendship bring their worlds together...and perhaps lead to something more?
1. Don't Cry Over Spilled Coins

**AN: Yay, a new story. I know I'm not completely done with Skip a Beat yet but this story has been floating around in my head for AGES and I figured I was close enough with the other one to start something new. Hope you guys enjoy.**

**TITLE: Worlds Together**

**SUMMARY: He's in college, she's in high school. He's an Eli, she's Harvard bound. He's a playboy, she's a commitment girl. He belongs to society and she hates his kind. Can an unexpected friendship bring their worlds together...and perhaps lead to something more? ROGAN**

**BACKGROUND: This story begins during Rory's infamous surprise interview at Yale in season 3. Everything that happened up to that point in the show happened for the sake of my story except 1 thing; Tristan never went away to military school. He won't be a major player in this story but I did think it would be fun to include him so I am. At the beginning Rory will be with Jess and Logan and her will only be friends with a LOT of sexual tension. This may go on for a while but not nearly as long as it did for Skip a Beat, don't worry. This will also be a lot less angsty. I promise to try and keep the LIT stuff to only that which pertains to furthering the Rogan relationship. If you have any other questions about this story, please let me know. Hope you enjoy.**

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Rory Gilmore walked away from the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library in awe. She had to admit, there were some pretty cool aspects to Yale. Sure it was no Harvard but it definitely had potential as a back up, not that she would ever tell her mother that. It was no secret that Lorelai Gilmore was not a fan of Yale; to her it represented everything she had rebelled against, the high society world of her parents. Of course Harvard had more than its share of society brats roaming the campus but Lorelai chose to look past that fact. Harvard was good, Yale was bad- end of story. So Rory kept her opinion of the college quite as her grandparents went on and on about all the great things that came with being an Eli.

"OK, _that_ was boring," Lorelai said and Rory discreetly rolled her eyes. How could seeing a real Gutenberg be boring? It was amazing; a part of history, a piece of culture, right before their eyes. "First I was scarred for life by the newly acquired knowledge that my mother was a home wrecker, now I have to listen to brainwashed tour guides drone on and on about things that are older than dirt. If the second half of this tour is going to be as painful as the first I'm going to need more coffee."

Mmmm, coffee. Rory could definitely go for some coffee. "I see a coffee cart right over there," Rory pointed the way. "We should definitely get some. I have to test the coffee here, it'll be a vital part of my collegiate life," she said eagerly, and then for the sake of her mother she leaned in and quietly added, "plus this way when I go to Harvard I can honestly boast that their coffee is way better than Yale's."

"OK then, coffee it is," Lorelai responded, already dragging Rory off in the direction of the kiosk.

"You want any, Grandma? Grandpa?" Rory asked, pulling out of Lorelai's grasp and pausing to wait for her grandparents.

"Actually sweetheart, I think I'm going to go freshen up a bit, I'll meet you girls over there in a few minutes," Emily Gilmore responded. She didn't understand the obsession her daughter and granddaughter had with the caffeinated beverage but it was one of their easier quirks to accept and so she tried not to make a fuss over it.

"Yes, I do believe a trip to the little gentleman's room is in order, you girls go get your coffee," Richard Gilmore added.

"OK, we'll be by the mocha lattes," Rory told them as she followed her mother away from the elders.

There was a short line at the cart and the two Lorelai's joined it, waiting impatiently for their caffeine fix. "Coffee's on me today," Rory told her mother, pulling a change purse out of her jeans' pocket. "I have to get rid of some of these coins."

"Thanks kiddo. How much is a coffee? Three bucks? I'll deduct it from your running total. You now only owe me $245, 647...and your life."

"That's good to know. I'll write you out an IOU," Rory replied with a laugh, opening her purse and digging through the change. A moment later Rory felt someone bump her from behind and the coins went flying everywhere. She sighed in frustration and bent down to pick up the money.

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Logan Huntzberger walked out of the Yale Daily News Office. His father had been on his back even more so than usual. _School's been in session nearly two months and you haven't had a single by line yet...when are you going to get you act together and take this seriously; the future of this company is in your hands, do you have any idea what kind of responsibility that is? _So he had decided the easiest way to get a little peace was just to suck it up a write an article. He had just turned in his first story of the year and had had to deal with the brown-nosed editor kissing his ass, telling him what a wonderful job he had done before he had even glanced at the piece of writing before him. That place seriously sucked the life out of him; Logan needed a jolt of coffee to get him going again.

He got in line for coffee behind two brunette women. They looked very similar and he figured they were related; sisters, or cousins perhaps? They were both beautiful, though one was a bit too old for him; the other girl was, however, just perfect. He caught a glimpse of her shimmering blue eyes and her mirthful smile. She was gorgeous, of course Logan Huntzberger wouldn't settle for anything less than gorgeous, though she was dressed simply in plain zip up sweater and pair of jeans, and _man_ did her ass look nice in those jeans. He smiled to himself; he was still looking for a date next Friday and she would do nicely.

The girl pulled out a coin purse and began sifting through her quarters and dimes. Change- that was something a Huntzberger couldn't be bothered with, nor could most people who ran in his circle. Judging by the way this girl was dressed and her current form of currency, she was not a high society girl; of course he suspected that anyway, he knew almost everyone in the Hartford elite, at least as a casual acquaintance. It didn't matter, he wasn't looking for a future wife or anything, just a good lay.

He seized the opportunity for a meeting, and "accidentally" bumped her from behind causing her money to fall from her hands and scatter across the ground. She bent down to pick it up and he paused for a second to get a good look, yes her ass definitely looked nice in those jeans, before bending down to "help" her recover her coins. "I'm really sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going," he apologized. "Although I'm not quite sure how I could have missed someone as beautiful as you," he added, laying the charm on thick.

"It's OK," she said tersely and turned to give him her best fake smile; she may not be society but she definitely had that society smile down pat. She was annoyed with him, he could tell that much. Oh well, it was the risk he'd taken for choosing the course of action he did; her annoyance wouldn't last long, Logan could win any girl over. An award winning smirk, a few well placed compliments, a cup of apology coffee and if all else failed- his name, and this girl would be swooning like all the others.

"No, really, I should be more careful," he said, picking up the last nickle that still lay on the ground and placing it back in her hand. "Let me make it up to you," He offered, flashing her his signature smirk. "Let me buy your coffee...both of you," he added looking up at her companion.

"I don't think so," she replied coldly. She wasn't even pretending to be nice anymore.

"Aw, come on now, it was only an accident, no need to get all riled up," he told her. "Although I must say that angry works for you; really makes those baby blue's sparkle."

She just ignored him and shot an exasperated look at the slightly older woman by her side. Hmm, this one was certainly giving him a little trouble but no girl turned Logan Huntzberger down and he wasn't about to break that winning streak now. He was all set to try again when he was distracted by the sound of someone calling his name.

"Logan?"

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Rory began hastily gathering the scattered currency when the very person who had caused this mishap bent down next to her. He began picking up money, coin by coin and uttered an apology that reeked of fake sincerity, followed by a compliment that was as unoriginal as it was lame. She quickly brushed him off and turned to give him the society smile she had quickly mastered in the three years since she had become more involved in her grandparent's world. It was at this point that she got a good look at him. She guessed he could be considered good looking, but she certainly wasn't interested. He wore designer clothing on his body and a smug look of arrogance on his face. He reminded her a bit of Tristan; a spoiled rich kid who thought that the entire world, especially the female half of it, should bow down at his feet.

He tried to apologize again and then offered to buy her coffee for her, then as an after thought he looked at Lorelai and offered her a coffee as well. She already disliked this guy immensely and if her grandparents weren't nearby she would have bothered to tell him exactly what she thought of him, but the Gilmores could return at any second and the last thing she needed to do in front of them was cause a scene. She tried to blow him off again but he persisted, his cocky facade only showing itself even more. He offered her another compliment, this one underhanded. She was beginning to think this "accident" wasn't an accident at all. It was probably some lame attempt of his to try and charm his way into her pants. Well that certainly wasn't going to happen.

She ignored him and turned to her mom, giving her a look that told Lorelai exactly what she thought of the boy. Lorelai returned the look and shook her head, indicating that she had the same opinions of the blond standing behind them but she clearly found it much more entertaining than her daughter.

Rory noticed they were next in line and prepared herself to order but she suddenly heard her grandfather's voice calling out to someone named Logan. She turned around curiously, trying to find exactly who her grandfather was speaking to. When she found her grandfather's intended target she sighed frustratedly. She should have known, that boy reeked of society. He was probably the precious son of one of her grandparent's billionaire friends.

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Logan looked around, trying to find who had called to him. He spotted Richard Gilmore, accompanied by his wife, Emily. He wondered what they were doing there, although Richard was an Eli so they were probably in town for some alumni event. He really wanted to turn his attention back to the feisty brunette but the Gilmore's were friend's of the family and he had to play nice so he plastered on his society mask and turned to them.

"Richard, Emily! It's a pleasure, what brings you to our lovely campus this fine day?"

"Oh well, I just stopped by for a little get together with the Wiffenpoofs. I brought my granddaughter along for a tour of the campus as well. She's a senior at Chilton this year, top of her class," Richard bragged. "It looks as though you two have met," he nodded his head to the very girl Logan had been fixated on. A Gilmore? Paying for coffee in nickles and dimes? That certainly didn't compute, but regardless, there before him was the illusive Gilmore Girl, often spoke of in society but never seen. It was certainly a shame to keep a girl like her hidden away.

"Yes, we had a little incident with some spilled coins but I offered my sincerest apologies and your lovely granddaughter just offered to let me buy her coffee as an act of contrition." Logan responded with a smile. He had identified his mystery woman and she wouldn't dare continue to spurn his advances with her grandparents around; that would be impolite after all.

"Richard, don't be rude," Emily scolded. "Make proper introductions."

"Oh yes, of course. Logan, this is my granddaughter Rory and my daughter Lorelai." Now _that_, Logan found interesting. The other woman was the mother; she was obviously older but he never would have guessed she was old enough to be the mother of a high school senior. He contained his surprise and politely shook hands with Rory and Lorelai. He noticed Rory give him a death glare as she reluctantly accepted his hand. He suppressed a laugh. This one would give him a run for his money but he was sure he wouldn't lose. "Rory," Richard continued, "this is Logan Huntzberger."

Logan carefully watched Rory's face as Richard introduced him. She hid it well but he could tell she was shocked to find out he was a Huntzberger. If Logan remembered correctly, Richard and Emily were always talking about how Rory wanted to go into journalism so the name meant even more to her than most. That would definitely work in his favor. As though on cue, Emily spoke up. "Rory's going to be a journalist," she gushed.

"Ah, I think I've heard that mentioned before. I've been told you're a very talented writer."

"I am," Rory said confidently. "I work hard at it," she shot Logan a look that indicated she didn't believe Logan even knew what hard work was, let alone ever actually did any. In that assessment she was correct.

"She's going to be an overseas correspondent, take the world by storm. She'll be the next Christiane Amanpour," Richard added proudly. "You know Rory," he turned to his granddaughter, "Logan's father owns some of the best newspaper's in the country. Logan knows all about the business. I'm sure he'd be willing to give you some tips."

"I'd be happy to Richard," he replied, sending a smug smirk Rory's way.

"You two could maybe go to dinner sometime...to talk about business of course," Emily added giddily. She was clearly very pleased by the idea of her granddaughter having dinner with a Huntzberger.

"I'd be honored to have the company of our beautiful, little Ace reporter." This was going great, he may not have won her over right away but she'd have no choice but to accept a date with him now, or risk insulting her grandparents. He'd take her out, wine her, dine her and by the end of the night she be screaming his name, begging for more; she seemed like quite the little spitfire after all.

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Rory watched on with disgust as Bible Boy the second sweet talked her grandparents. Richard introduced this "Logan" to her and she reluctantly took his hand but made sure to send him a look that told him she was only being polite for the sake of her grandparents and that she actually detested him. Richard reversed the introductions, "Rory, this is Logan Huntzberger," she tried to hold back her surprise. Huntzberger? As in Mitchum Huntzberger, the newspaper guy? He was huge. Of course that made sense, the bigger the name, the bigger the ego, right?

Her grandparents continued to sing her praise to Logan. Rory knew they were waisting their breath; Logan was already interested in her but he wasn't interested in what was between her ears, he was interested in what was between her legs. It sickened her. Richard suggested Logan give Rory some "tips" and by the look she got from the new bane of her existence, he was thinking of all the tips he would give her that had absolutely nothing to do with journalism.

And then the Gilmore's really crossed the line. A dinner? To talk about _business_? She couldn't say no or her grandparents would be mad that she'd insulted their friends _and _they would lecture her about her future and the importance of making contacts. But of course, no matter what her grandparents expected of this "dinner" she was willing to bet her Chilton tuition money that Logan wanted to talk about business about as much as Rory wanted to talk about a world with no coffee.

"I'd be honored to have the company of our beautiful, little Ace reporter," Logan replied. Rory scowled at him, shooting blue flames out of her eyes.

"I don't know grandma," she tried to say politely, "I'm really busy with school and college applications. It might be hard for me to find a free night."

"What about next Friday?" Richard offered, turning to Logan to see if that was alright with him.

"I'm free as a bird next Friday," he told them.

"But Grandpa, what about Friday night dinner?"

"Nonsense, this is about your future, Rory. We'd be more than happy to excuse you from dinner."

Rory turned to her mother for help but Lorelai just smiled and shrugged her shoulders. Somehow Rory could tell she was getting some sort of perverse pleasure from this. She didn't know if her mother was just happy to see any stone thrown in the wheel of Rory's budding relationship with Jess, or if she was somehow getting her back for making them go on this stupid road trip to Yale in the first place, but Lorelai Gilmore was not going to be her daughter's savior today.

Rory turned back to Logan and her grandparents with a sigh. She couldn't think of any way out of this. "Next Friday...to talk _business_," she stressed the last word.

"Of course Ace, what else would be talk about," he replied with a wink.

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**psssst...please leave a review, I'll love you forever ;)**


	2. Puzzled

**AN: Hey guys, thanks for the great response to the first chapter, I was very excited that you all seemed to like it so much. Here's chapter 2, enjoy** **and please leave a review, I love 'em :)**

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Logan happily made his way back to his dorm room. What had started out as a day that could only be described at mundane had suddenly taken a very interesting turn. There was just something about that Gilmore girl that intrigued him. Perhaps it was her down to earth attitude despite her high profile name. Maybe it was the mystery; after all, in the 20 years of his existence she was probably the only member of the Hartford elite he had never met and he had to wonder why that was. Most likely, he thought, it was something about those big blue eyes of hers; so innocent appearing at first glance but once baited, they sparkled with an energy that showed a fleck of darkness within. Rory Gilmore was an enigma, a puzzle, and if there were two things Logan loved, they were a pretty girl and a puzzle.

"What's up with you today?" Colin looked up from his notebook as Logan entered their common room. "You're like a walking cliche."

"What are you talking about?" Logan asked, the big grin not disappearing from his face as he sat down next to his two roommates.

"You're whistling and I'm not really sure what a jaunty tune is, but if I was, I'm guessing that would qualify". Colin turned to face his friend dead on. "Also, there appears to be a skip in your step," he said accusingly.

"Did you get laid already?" Finn asked, taking a sip of coffee and looking up from the GQ magazine on this lap. "It's only..." he looked down at his watch. "3 o'clock. Someone remind me why I'm up at this ungodly hour."

"Beats me, I was pretty surprised myself to see you out here this early," Colin replied with a shrug of his shoulders, but then turned back to Logan waiting for him to answer Finn's question.

"I'm just having a good day," Logan answered, leaning back on the sofa and putting his feet up on the coffee table.

"Didn't you just come from the Daily News office?" Colin asked skeptically. "I don't think I've ever seen that lead to a good day for you."

Logan scoffed, "No, that part sucked. I swear if my dear editor, Steinman and that stupid little protege of his, Doyle spent any more time kissing my ass there would be no paper because it would never get to the printer on time."

"So than, why so bright-eyed and bushy tailed this fine day?" Finn asked.

"After I left the paper I had a little run in with the Gilmores," Logan told them.

"As in Richard and Emily?" Colin asked with narrowed eyes. "When has running into friend's of our parents ever been a good thing?"

"Ah, but I didn't tell you what they were doing here..." Logan baited them.

"OK, I'll bite...what were they doing here?"

"They were giving a little tour to their granddaughter," he answered with a smirk, an image of Rory flashed behind his eyes.

"Is she a feisty red head?" Finn asked, straightening up with renewed interest.

"Nope, not a red head...but she would definitely count as feisty," he grinned as a very dirty thought came to him.

"But you're in a good mood..." Colin said, something not quite adding up. He put his highlighter down on his notebook, ready to hear the story.

"Have you not been listening, Colin? Hot, high school girl," Logan rolled his eyes at his friend; what was so hard to understand?

"Yes, 'hot, high school girl' who for all intents and purposes should have turned you down flat."

"I'm overwhelmed by your faith in my ability to get a date," Logan replied dryly.

"Yeah, mate," Finn chimed in. "Huntz's ability to woo the fairer sex is second only to mine."

"When was the last time you got Rosemary to go home with you Finn? Oh that's right, never," Logan shot at him, half playfully.

"Hey mate, I was on your side," Finn replied defensively.

"So Colin, tell me, why are you surprised the lovely Miss Gilmore agreed to go out with me?" Logan asked nonchalantly though the truth was, he was dying to know. He almost _hadn't _gotten the date and under most circumstance he would have been mortified that he had to be set up by a girl's grandparents but he had gotten far too much pleasure from the hostile look in her eyes to let it upset him. Still, he hadn't actually won this girl over and he had to know what kind of work he had in store for him.

"Sorry man, it's just that my cousin Francie goes to Chilton and I've heard stories," he informed his blond companion.

"Ugh," Logan scoffed, "I hate your cousin Francie and all those stupid friends of hers. Oh god, please tell me Gilmore isn't one of those stupid Puff girls, she certainly didn't seem the type."

"Oh, no, I heard all about _that _story from my Aunt Maureen and Uncle Bob; they were mortified."

"Do tell," Logan prodded, taking his feet off the coffee table and sitting up attentively.

"Well apparently Francie made all the Puffs and their new initiates sneak into the headmaster's office. They all got suspended, except Gilmore. Apparently she didn't even want to be there, Headmaster Charleston had _made _her hang out with them."

"Well it sounds like the sheila has good taste," Finn commented, he too thought of Colin's cousin and her friends as petty, superficial, brats with absolutely no substance.

"Exactly," Colin intoned.

"Hey! What the hell is that supposed to mean," Logan asked defensively.

"Sorry Huntz, but I only speak of what I know. Dugrey has apparently been lusting after her for years and hasn't made an inch of headway. She hates our kind."

"Our kind? What kind would that be?" he asked skeptically.

"High society," Colin answered simply.

"What?" Logan scoffed. "That's ridiculous, she _is _high society, she's a Gilmore for god's sake."

"By name yes, but she hasn't been a part of our world since she was an infant."

"What? That doesn't make any sense," Logan stated, although he silently thought that, at least in part, it made a lot of sense. It would certainly explain the simple attire and the coins. She hadn't seemed high society at all.

Colin shook his head at his friend's cluelessness. "Don't you know the story?"

"No," Logan answered, eyes narrowing curiously.

"I know the story," Finn piped in. He had gone back to reading his magazine but he was still keeping an ear on the conversation

"See, even Finn knows the story," Colin replied, pointing at the Aussie sitting across the room. "It's pretty much the biggest scandal to hit our circle in a generation."

"Well sorry if I don't gossip like a girl," Logan spat.

"Oh well if you don't like gossip then I don't need to tell you." Logan glared at his friend and Colin only laughed. "Fine, I'll tell you, don't get your panties in a bunch." Colin stood up and began pacing the room. "It all began 18 years ago on a cold winter's night..."

"Colin," Logan said with great annoyance.

"Fine, I'll get to the point. Her mom got pregnant as a teenager, refused to get married, lived at home for about a year and then just disappeared with the kid. Apparently they moved to some small hick town just south of here and that's pretty much the end of it."

"I still don't get it, they were here with Richard and Emily today. Also, every time I see the Gilmores at those stupid parties we have to attend all they can do is rave about their granddaughter. That doesn't sound like a 'no contact' kind of relationship to me."

"The story is that Rory got into Chilton and the mom couldn't afford it so she had to go crawling back to Richard and Emily. I guess their financial involvement came hand in hand with some emotional involvement as well."

Logan tried to process this information. "So what you're saying is that even though this girl is a Gilmore, she grew up dirt poor with a mother who was so disillusioned by a world of wealth and influence that she ran away to raise her child away from it all. She passed her scorn of money and power on to her offspring who now lingers on the edges of society out of necessity but hates it."

"That about sums it up."

The puzzle pieces were beginning to fall into place an Logan was only more intrigued. "So _that's _why she hates me, out of principle." Logan spoke without thinking.

"Hah! He admits it, she hates him," Finn said triumphantly.

"I thought you were on my side, Finn." Logan glared.

"What can I say, I'm a fair weather friend," the Aussie shrugged.

"So if she hates you, why the hell is she going on a date with you?" Colin asked, with an _I told you so _aire to his tone. He sat back down in his chair, waiting for the answer.

Logan sighed. He was going to have to tell them the whole truth. He sucked in a preparatory breath before mumbling, "Hergrandparentsmadeher."

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Colin asked, trying to hold back a fit of giggles.

Logan sighed again. "Her grandparents made her," he repeated.

Colin whooped with laughter. "Oh man, you've sunk so low you don't even have your parents setting you up with suitable girls anymore, you've got your parents _friends _doing it."

On the other side of the room Finn joined in the hysterics. "It's a pity date for the poor boy."

"I hate you both," Logan growled, dropping his head into his hands. For some unbeknownst reason he had been looking forward to this date more than most. In fact, it was probably her very resistance that made her so attractive. She wasn't going to be as easy as all the others, for once he would earn what he got. Still, these two buffoons he called friends were ruining it for him. "Remind me never to tell either of you anything, ever again."

"OK, OK, no more laughing," Colin said, trying to calm himself down. He waved his hand in the air in front of him, motioning to Finn to stop. He took a few deep breaths, laugh free, before another fit hit him. He and Finn were practically rolling on the floor by this point.

Logan stood up in a huff and marched off towards his room. "No, mate, stop," Finn tried to say between laughs. "We'll be good, we promise." The laughter slowly died down and Logan looked back and forth between his friends before walking back to the couch.

Colin spoke up again. "In all seriousness man, you really think you're going to get on this girl's good side. No offense but I seriously think this one may even be out of _your _league."

"No girl is out of my league...OK maybe Angelina Jolie." Colin looked at him skeptically. Logan continued, "It'll be a challenge sure, but I'm always up for a challenge; unless it has to do with school or newspapers."

"Alright, man. Good luck with that."

"Colin, my friend," Logan said leaning forward conspiratorially, "luck has nothing to do with it. This girl is a just a puzzle waiting to be put together. First step, gathering all the pieces. Here's what we're gonna do..."

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Rory leaned her forehead against the cool glass of the taxi's window. Her head was killing her. _Gloria Estefan_? She seriously couldn't come up with a better hero than Gloria _Estefan_? How had she let her grandfather trick her into this. Her Mom had told her what he was doing but she hadn't listened. It wasn't that she didn't know he was trying to manipulate her but she just never thought he would go to such lengths. She had been humiliated. She really hoped she hadn't blown all her chances of getting into Yale; if for some reason she didn't get into Harvard, she really wanted the opportunity to be a bulldog.

"You know, those windows are filthy. You're probably contracting some weird disease as we speak, and since we're no longer speaking to your grandparents there will be no one to pick up the hospital tab if you get monkey herpes," Lorelai broke the silence.

"I highly doubt there have been any monkeys in this cab recently," Rory retorted, removing her head from the window and allowing it to lull back against the seat. "And if I do come down with monkey herpes and die I will no longer have to live with the humiliation of this day forever ingrained in my memory."

"It's not that bad kiddo. It was only one meeting at Yale, you're still going to go to Harvard, this doesn't change anything," Lorelai soothed.

"It was humiliating. I made a fool of myself in there. I was dressed like a hobo," the younger girl ranted, pointing at her less than professional attire. "I hate grandma and grandpa."

"For once, kid- and I will chop you into tiny pieces and serve you to Apricot if you tell anyone this- I'm going to have to defend my mom. She really didn't know about this meeting. Although she does get a nice chunk of blame for selling your soul to the blond coffee cart devil."

In all the craziness over the interview Rory had almost forgotten that awful encounter at the coffee cart. How the hell had she been shanghaied into going on a date with that rich, arrogant, egotistical man whore? He had practically been undressing her with his eyes the whole time and yet somehow her grandparents had missed the lascivious glares and lewd smirks he had been bestowing upon her throughout the entire conversation. They were completely clueless to the fact that as they were speaking, he was thinking of how to deflower their granddaughter. "Ugh," she groaned,once again turning to the window and banging her head into it frustratedly. "Why did you have to remind me? Now I hate them _and _I hate you."

"Me?" Lorelai asked incredulously. "Why do you hate me? I didn't auction you off to young Cassanova."

"You didn't stop it," Rory accused. "I swear I think that is the longest I have ever heard you go without speaking a word."

"Well you can't talk during the feature presentation," Lorelai mock defended with a gleam in her eye.

"I'm glad my misery is a source of entertainment to you. How the hell am I supposed to explain this to Jess? Am I just going to go up to him and say, 'hey, I know we've only been together a week and Dean just got out of the picture but my grandparents set me up on a date, is that OK with you?'"

"Hmm, I'm not sure that would go over too well," Lorelai mused. "I would suggest you go with 'Jess, I think we should have an open relationship, especially since I've already agreed to go out with a handsome, charming college man.'"

Rory glowered at her mother, "Handsome and charming? Were we looking at the same guy because I'm going to have to stick with self-entitled and annoying."

"Hey a guy can be handsome and charming and self-entitled and annoying." Rory continued to glare. "Fine, fine, here's a solution to your predicament; cancel. I don't think you really owe you grandparents any favors right now anyhow, so just back out."

"Oh yeah, great idea, because that went so well last month when you tried to back out of that Bowie concert with paddle number 17."

"Hmm, yeah, they can be rather unrelenting, can't they? Well just tell Jess he's a friend of the family who's family works in journalism and you're just going for some career advice. It's pretty much the truth. I mean, I doubt that boy actually has any attention of even mentioning the word newspaper, unless it's to ask you which section you plan on reading first the next morning while he makes you breakfast, but Jess doesn't have to know that."

"You're no help at all," Rory groaned. It looked like she was stuck going on this date whether she liked it or not.


	3. All Business

**AN: Not much to say except I hope you enjoy the chapter and _please_ leave a review, they make me happy ;)**

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Logan drove down a narrow street, looking at the numbers on the houses, trying to find the right one. Colin had not been lying when he called this place a _small _hick town. He had learned a little about the town using the "Official Stars Hollow Web Page." He was amazed anyone in this tiny hamlet even had a computer, let alone knew how to make a web page but nonetheless there was one; updated and maintained by a man name Kirk. Unfortunately he didn't find anything on there that would specifically help him to figure Rory out . He did get some helpful information from other sources though. Colin had managed to subtly weasel some details out of his cousin, for example. It turned out that Rory was on the student government with Francie; she was student body vice president. That was good; he could talk to her about politics. He didn't think he'd ever been out with a girl whom he could talk to about politics before, but there was a first time for everything. His investigation had also told him that she was in fact, as Richard had said, at the top of her class in Chilton. Her writing featured prominently in Chilton's newspaper, The Franklin and he had read several articles of hers; he had to admit, she really was a good writer. She had actually had a coming out party, though her date had not been a man of society; she had apparently gone with her boyfriend at the time, a boy from her hometown whom he had also found out had just recently broken up with her.

There was one fact about her that he had been unable to uncover. No one he spoke to seemed to know who her father was. Colin assumed that the sperm was courtesy of the gardener. Logan secretly thought that Colin had been watching too many episodes of _Desperate Housewives_. He wondered if Rory knew her dad. He wondered what it would be like not to know; not to have to live up to crazy expectations and have your life planned out for you.

His thoughts dissipated as he located her humble abode and pulled into the drive way. Humble abode- that was definitely one way to describe it. He figured it wasn't a Richard and Emily approved residence with its tiny size, feeble looking porch, and slightly unkempt lawn. He liked it; it actually felt like a real home, something he never associated with the house he grew up in. Of course, he thought all those garden gnomes next door were a bit much. He got out of his car, grabbing the bouquet of flowers he had brought with him, and made his way up to the door.

On the other side of the home's threshold, Rory heard the doorbell ring but made no rushed attempt to answer the door. He could wait in the cold for all she cared. He was probably used to girls who were all too excited to be another notch in his bed post, so much so that they practically threw themselves through the door the second he appeared. She wasn't one of those girls. She wasn't going to be a notch in his bed post that was for sure; she wasn't his date.

Rory put on her boots, taking her own sweet time, before taking one last glance in the mirror. She didn't know how she'd let Lorelai talk her into this outfit, it was ridiculous. Rory had playfully toyed with the idea of simply meeting him in jeans and an over-sized Harvard sweatshirt while wearing her hair up in a messy pony tail- _that _would show him. But Lorelai had a different idea; _knock his socks off gorgeous _were the words her mother had used. Rory had no idea how that was supposed to get her "not interested" point across but her mom had somehow convinced her; persuasiveness was a trait that Lorelai Gilmore was blessed with and Rory was still waiting for those genes to kick in. Lorelai had an evil plan, get him all hot and bothered at the site of her and then shut him down cold, and she had made it sound like such a wonderful idea when it came out of her mouth but now Rory was having serious second thoughts. Playing the part of the tease was not in her nature. It was too late to change now though, so she'd just have to go with it.

Rory finally made her way to the front door to meet Logan. The door opened and the mere site of her made Logan's mouth dry up like a raisin in the sun. His eyes raked her over. She had been beautiful in her casual clothes the other day, but tonight, in her short corduroy skirt, low cut halter top with a denim jacket providing just enough cover to provoke mystery, and thigh high boots, she was truly a site to behold. He forced himself to swallow and plastered a wry grin upon his face. "Hello," he greeted her. "I come bearing gifts." He extended the bouquet of flowers towards her and her eyes looked at the posies for a split second before meeting his through narrow slits. "I didn't know what kind of flowers you liked so I got a mixture; I hope they meet your approval," he continued on, ignoring the not so friendly expression on her face.

"This isn't a date Huntzberger," she practically growled.

He knew that her angry tone and harsh words were meant to turn him _off _but something about her ire was seriously turning him _on_. His eyes raked over her ensemble one more time before he looked her in the eye with a smirk on his face. "No, I bet you dress that way for _all _the boys."

She was seriously going to _kill _her mother. "It's a free country, I can wear whatever clothes I choose; that doesn't mean your getting any tonight so don't be entertaining any ideas."

"I wouldn't dream of it," he winked at her. "Are you going to put these flowers in some water or would you rather carry them around with us all night to let the world know how very much in love we are," he joked.

She glowered at him before ripping the bouquet from his hands and dropping them haphazardly on the table by the front door. "Let's get this over with."

Shaking his head with amusement he reached his arm out and placed his hand gently on the small of her back to lead her away from the house. 'Aww, Ace. You really know how to make a guy feel wanted."

"Let's get a couple of things straight here Logan," she said, letting out a sigh of frustration. "First of all, I suggest you keep your hands to yourself if you intend on keeping them," as she said this she grabbed his hand with hers and ripped it away from her back, making sure to twist it just a little harder than necessary.

"So you like to play rough, do you, Ace," he replied with a laugh.

She glared at him angrily. "That brings us to my second point. My name is Rory; only two syllables, should be nice and easy, even for a dolt like you. I'm not really sure why pompous, blond haired, miscreants seem to have so much trouble with it."

"Everyone gets to call you Rory, where's the fun in that?"

Rory shook her head. "Just get it right, buster."

"Buster? But my name's Logan. Two syllables; should be easy enough to remember for a star reporter like you," he replied, mocking her words.

"Buster is a term used to denote annoyance. You're using Ace as a term of endearment. You don't get to use terms of endearment unless you're endeared to me, which you are very much not."

They had reached his Porsche by this point and he opened the door for her, motioning for her to sit. She looked the sleek, silver sports car up and down before turning her gaze back upon him. "Oh yay, I get to ride in the penis metaphor," she huffed before reluctantly taking her seat. As he closed the door she caught a glimpse of his annoyingly smug face. It was going to be a looooong night and she was definitely not looking forward to it.

He walked around to the driver's side of the car, looking at her through the windshield as he passed. She was in a very defensive pose, slumped down with her arms folded across her chest as she stared out the window and away from him. It was going to be an interesting night and he was definitely looking forward to it.

---------------------------------------------

The ride to the restaurant had been mostly silent. Logan concentrated on the road and Rory sat in the same defensive pose she had first assumed upon getting in the car. Perhaps she was too busy fuming to notice any awkwardness but the silence had, surprisingly enough, not been that uncomfortable.

Logan opened her door to let her out of the car before leading her into the restaurant. It was a fancy, Italian place called Mama Lombardi's. A Maitre 'D dressed in a tuxedo greeted them at the door and began to lead them to the back of the restaurant. They reached a door and Rory looked at it curiously. "Where are we going."

"Private room, Ace," he responded, ignoring her previous instructions not to call her that.

"Oh no, I don't think so. It was bad enough I had to spend 20 minutes alone with you in your car, I'm not about to spend 2 hours alone with you in a private room." She turned her attention to the Maitre 'D. "Do you have any tables on the main floor?" she asked him.

Logan held a finger up to the man, indicating that they needed a moment. "I think I should be insulted that you don't want to be alone with me," he mock pouted.

"Well it _is _an insult so that's not an unwarranted response," she retorted.

"C'mon Ace, I don't bite...unless you asked me to," he grinned smugly.

She shot him a death glare. "In your dreams, Huntzberger."

"Those will be some very pleasant dreams indeed," he smirked. "But seriously, Ace, it's noisy out here. How do you expect to have that _business _talk if we can't hear one another?"

"Please, I'm not naive enough to think you have any intention of even mentioning newspapers tonight; just remember that I'm not here of my own free volition. My grandparents can be very persistent and I didn't want to spend the rest of my life hearing about how if I want to succeed in the journalism business I have to take advantage of every opportunity and contact I can. You see, they actually think you have an interest in helping me out."

"So what you're saying is that you came here to take advantage of me?" he asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

She rolled her eyes at him for what was probably the hundredth time already that evening. "Just watch yourself, Logan. My boyfriend might not be quite as big as you are but he's crafty and I'd hate to have to sic him on you."

Logan felt a sudden wave of disappointment, "You have a boyfriend, Ace? I'm crushed," he tried to play it off lightly. Hadn't Colin said that she'd just broken up with her boyfriend? Maybe they got back together and the news just hadn't spread around Chilton yet. Then a thought occurred to him, it wasn't time to throw in the towel just yet. She was clearly trying very hard to spurn his advances, this was probably just a decoy to get him to back down. He wouldn't fall for it.

"Why? It's not like you have a chance either way," she told him.

"Whatever you say," he shrugged, feigning indifference. He turned to the Maitre 'D, slipping something into his hands. "Could you perhaps do something about the seating arrangements as per my date's request?"

The man quickly glanced down at the stack of bills in his hands before responding, "Very well sir, follow me."

They were seated at a table on the main floor but slightly hidden from view and the Maitre 'D left them. Rory finally spoke again. "You really think you can just buy people off like that?" she asked incredulously.

"Hey, it got you the table you wanted, didn't it?"

"That is _so _not the point."

"Really because I think that's exactly the point. You wanted something, he wanted something, an exchange took place and now everyone is happy. I don't see where the problem is."

"No, I don't suppose you would."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked defensively.

"It means you've gone your whole life always getting whatever you wanted with just a little bit of charm and a little bit of money. You have no idea what it's like to have to work for something. I bet you don't even know anything about the business you're going to be taking over; you've probably been too busy dicking around to learn the first thing about journalism," she shot at him.

"You'd be surprised what you learn when you get dragged to work with your father every day all summer long starting at the tender age of seven when all your friends are away at camp. You'd be surprised what being forced to sit in on business mergers when you should be in class, can teach you. My life isn't all fun and games, Rory, no matter what you think."

Rory looked up at him in stunned silence. His words weren't angry or full of frustration. He was very matter-of-fact and maybe even just a tad bit wistful. She didn't know how to respond to this moment of sincerity; she'd come prepared only with defensive retorts and angry accusations, so she chose to remain silent, burying herself in the menu.

-------------------------------------------

"_You _watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer?" Rory asked him incredulously on the ride home.

"What? Sarah Michelle Gellar is hot. And just think of all the things a girl that flexible could do in bed," he smiled at her with false innocence.

She glared at him. She was seriously going to have wrinkles at the tender age of 18 if she kept scrunching up her face in disapproval at him. "I should have known you only watched it for its sexual implications. I wouldn't expect a misogynistic pig like you to appreciate its strong girl power message."

"Hey, I am not a misogynistic pig. That would mean I hate women, I _love _women."

"You love having sex with women, that doesn't mean you love women; you think they're below you."

"That is not true. OK, maybe I feel that way about the about the stupid bimbos who throw themselves at my feet because they want to be my damn trophy wife and only came to school to get their MRS and not their BA. But hey, it's their choice; if they want to act like all they have to offer the world is sex then that's how they're going to be treated. There are plenty of great women in this world who deserve and receive my utmost respect, whether they be vampire slayers, doctors, politicians...journalists," he shot a sideways glace at Rory to gauge her reaction.

She looked at him with wide eyes, Logan had surprised her for a second time that night. "Damn straight," she replied with a smile.

This had been how the entire dinner had gone. They had bickered and bantered practically the entire night. She had scolded him on his choice of Veal Parmesan as an entree. Didn't he know that they took poor baby calves away from their mothers and put them in tiny little cages, in the dark where they couldn't even turn around? He had simply responded by reminding her that the birds used to make her Chicken Francese had been kept in similar conditions, the only difference was that they were older and therefore treated badly for much longer. She had harrumphed and crossed her arms in front of her chest angrily but subsequently called the waiter back and changed her order to penne ala vodka. She was certain that this sudden case of vegetarianism wouldn't last long but she just couldn't go through with eating the chicken tonight.

Despite all the arguing, after his confession about being dragged into his father's world, Rory's retorts had been lacking the same scorn they had contained earlier in the evening. It was true that they had agreed upon almost nothing all night but a part of Rory suspected that he had simply been playing devil's advocate in an attempt to get her all riled up.

They pulled back into the driveway of her house and Logan began to unbuckle his seat belt. "No, stay here," she told him.

"I know, I know, this isn't a date," he responded dryly, not stopping his movements to get out of the car. "That doesn't mean I can't be a gentleman and walk you to your door."

"No, it's not that it's just..." she pointed to her porch and Logan noticed a shadow moving around. "Jess is waiting for me. He wasn't too happy about me getting shanghaied into this as you can imagine. I don't think he'd appreciate you're gentlemanly gesture."

"Right," he said, trying to hide his surprise. Apparently the boyfriend story hadn't been a decoy after all. "Well then, I guess that good night kiss is out of the question," he smirked at her.

She slapped his arm and rolled her eyes; he wasn't quite sure if the gesture was playful or hostile, he supposed it was a mixture of both. "Good-bye Logan."

"Night, Ace," he replied as he watched her get out of the car. He re-buckled his seat belt and started the ignition, practically in slow motion as he watched her run up to the porch and kiss her boyfriend. He tried to suppress the strange feeling in the pit of his stomach as he saw this. If he didn't know any better he would think it was disappointment and jealousy. It couldn't be, Logan didn't get jealous over girls and the idea of him being disappointed was laughable; so he didn't even get so much as a good night kiss, so what? He could go back to campus and have another girl in his bed this very night. He wasn't going to...but he could.


	4. Affected

**AN:** **Sorry this took so long to get up. I'm trying to finish up Skip a Beat plus I had two little one shots I had to get out of my head. Please leave me a happy little review :)**

* * *

Logan plopped down in the booth next to his friends, a drink in each hand. He knew they would be at the Pub, it was a Friday night after all. 

"You're back early," Colin greeted him with a smug smile.

"And he's double fisting it. Not a rarity if you're me, but not a good sign for Huntz here," Finn added.

"It was fine, she just wasn't my type," Logan said off handedly. It was true, Rory Gilmore wasn't his type; argumentative, commitment-oriented, could actually hold a conversation about something other than her newest pair of Jimmy Choo's or his father's money. So why did she stay on his mind? Sure, she was pretty, but pretty girls were a dime a dozen, especially for a guy like him. And OK, he'd enjoyed her company, their constant banter and her tendency to get riled up at the slightest provocation were highly entertaining, but that was all there was to it. He'd probably never even see her again, after all it took him eighteen years to meet her the first time.

"Wait, Logan had a date with a girl who wasn't his type? Wait, there are girls who aren't Logan's type? I thought he'd sleep with anything with boobs," a girl with curly blonde hair asked incredulously.

"Hey," Logan replied indignantly. "I do have _some_ standards; I've never slept with you."

"I'm going to let that slide because you're clearly having a bad night and because everyone at this table knows that you've tried to get in my pants on more than one occasion. I just have enough sense not to let you in my bed. Now tell me about this girl who wasn't your type. Was she fat? Elephant man ugly?"

"No Steph, she was OK looking," he told the blonde girl.

"_OK_ looking? You seemed to think she was more than OK looking the other day. You practically left a pile of drool on the common room floor after just talking about her," Colin called him on his understatement.

"Which leaves only one other reason I can think of for your declaration that she 'wasn't your type,'" Steph extrapolated.

"Yes my dear, I think you've hit the nail on the head," Finn agreed, then paused for dramatic effect. "The lovely lady wouldn't put out."

"Ooh the girl has good taste then. I like her already," Steph smiled.

"Whatever," Logan dismissed, knocking back the second of his two drinks though he'd been there for barely 5 minutes. "She had a boyfriend. I figured it wouldn't be polite to split them up; you know, figured I'd spread the wealth a little."

"She has a boyfriend and she still went on a date with you?" Steph asked.

"Oh this is a great story, you're going to love this," Colin informed her. "She totally rejected him at first and only wound up on the date because her grandparents shanghaied her into it."

"Hah! That's hot. Who are her grandparents?"

"Richard and Emily Gilmore."

"So that would make this the infamous Rory Gilmore. Makes sense, Dugrey didn't dub her the Mary of Chilton for being the kind of girl who would swoon at Huntzberger's feet,' Stephanie commented.

"Please, she's not that innocent," Logan rolled his eyes.

"Yes, and I bet you 'drive her crazy,'" Finn replied with a smirk.

"You better be careful, the girl is 'toxic', Huntz," Colin added.

"Yes but she got to go out with me so isn't she 'lucky,'" Logan retorted.

"OK, you three know way too many Britney Spears songs. It's a little disturbing to say the least," Stephanie stopped them.

"I'm going to get another drink," Logan declared.

"You just had two," Steph reminded him.

"Yes, exactly. I _had_ two. Now I have none. I'll be right back." He stood up from the table and made his way to the bar.

His friend's watched him as he sidled up to the bar to exchange his empty glasses for full ones. "What's his deal tonight?" Colin asked concerning his friend's strange mood.

"Our dear Huntz has finally experienced the pain of rejection. Uncharted territory for him, mate."

"But he had to have known. I warned him that this girl wouldn't be like the rest. And he knew she hated him before he even went out with her."

"I don't think it's the generic concept of rejection, boys," Stephanie said, her eyes still glued to Logan's back where he stood at the bar. "Look." Colin and Finn turned their attention back to their blond friend and noticed a tall, slender brunette walk up beside him. She placed a hand gently on his arm and said something. He didn't even turn to look at her but he must have spoken because the girl threw her head back in a show of laughter, clearly trying too hard to act like she was amused. He finally turned to face her, both his hands once again loaded with drinks. She leaned into him to whisper something in his ear. He simply shrugged, turned, and walked away.

"What was that all about?" Colin asked.

"She was so hot she was hott with two 't's and she wasn't even a red head," Finn commented.

"She was practically begging him to take her home and do ungodly things to her," Colin replied.

Stephanie just shook her head at their cluelessness as Logan sat back down. "What?" he asked at his friend's looks.

"What just happened up there?" Colin asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you just blew off that girl at the bar. You could be getting laid as we speak and yet here you sit with us, downing scotch faster than Finn."

"I just wasn't interested," Logan shrugged it off.

"Logan Huntzberger wasn't interested in meaningless sex on a Friday night? Who are you and what have you done with my best mate?"

"It's not a big deal, can we just drop it, please." Logan turned to look at Stephanie. "Do I even want to know why _you're_ so quiet?"

"You like her," Steph replied matter-of-factly.

"Who? The girl at the bar? She was alright," he shrugged.

Steph rolled her eyes. "Not the girl at the bar. Gilmore. You like her."

"You're crazy."

"She affected you. You're all sullen, you were far to insistent about the fact that she 'wasn't your type,' and suddenly you've changed from using sex to using alcohol as a vice. You like her."

"Look, I'm not saying I would have kicked her out of my bed but it's no great loss either. There are plenty of other fish in the sea."

"And yet you seemed to have taken a little break from fishing. Odd."

Logan rolled his eyes and sighed. "You need to get a hobby Steph, and stop over analyzing other people's lives, you're not very good at it."

"You keep telling yourself that Huntz, she replied with a smile. "You keep telling yourself that,"

* * *

"It's 10:30, Rory," Jess said as she walked up to the house.

"Wow, you can tell time. And they say our public schools are going to hell in a hand basket," she replied teasingly, giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

"You were out with another guy until 10:30 on a Friday night," he said accusingly.

"We already went through this Jess. He's a friend of my grandparents and his family owns a bunch of newspapers. It was just a net-working thing." As she spoke she was oddly aware of Logan's car pulling out of the driveway; she ignored the strange feeling it left her with and forced her focus back on Jess. "That's all. Nothing happened, nothing's going to happen. You have nothing to worry about."

"Well excuse me for having a problem with seeing my girlfriend go out with other guys. I at least thought you'd be home at a reasonable hour so that we could still do something," he said, raising his voice a little.

"It's only 10:30 Jess. I usually don't get home until almost this late from my grandparent's on a Friday night," she rolled her eyes in annoyance. Just what she needed in her life, more jealousy. Dean was jealous of Tristan, then Dean was jealous of Jess; Jess was jealous of Dean, and now Jess was jealous of Logan who she could barely even stand. She was sick of it.

"Your grandparents aren't horny college guys who think they're entitled to anything and any_one_ they want. And I've never seen you dress like _that_," he motioned to Rory's outfit, "for your grandparents."

She suddenly felt very self-conscious of her clothing for the first time since Logan had fist picked her up but she stood her ground anyway. "There's nothing wrong with my outfit, Mom helped me pick it out. And you have no right to start acting all cave-man possessive. You've known about this all week. You knew I couldn't get out of it and I never hid anything from you."

"Oh come on Rory, you've got to see this from my perspective."

"I don't _have_ to anything. You're being a jerk. Just go home and come back when you're willing to act like a civilized person." Without waiting for a response, Rory turned on her heel and walked into the house.

"Mini-me you're home," Lorelai called out with glee as her daughter came breezing through the door. "Come, tell Mommy all about your date with your rich college man."

"It _wasn't_ a date," Rory replied defensively.

"Oh right, right. How was your _business_ dinner with your rich college man? I'm so sorry I wasn't here to pester him when he picked you up. Michel decided that the Independence Inn should start offering jazzercise classes for our patrons and some fifty year old woman who clearly never exercised a day in her life decided to join in. Well apparently she didn't read the fine print about all exercise programs should be approved by your physician and she pulled a groin muscle and we had to call Dr. Fitzgerald to come have a looksy. It was a big pain in the ass. Well not for her, for her it was a big pain in the somewhere else. So anyway, back to you and blondie. Did he have the audacity to be on time because that's a big no-no when you're going somewhere with a Gilmore girl. Oh and I saw the flowers..."

"God, what is everyone's problem tonight?" Rory cut her mother off frustratedly.

"Is this about the little tift you and Jess just had on our porch?" Lorelai asked, leading Rory into the living room.

"You saw that?"

"No, I was in the bathroom but Babbette was spying on you from her house and she called to tell me all about it."

"It just happened 30 seconds ago, how could she possibly have called you in that amount of time?" Rory asked incredulously.

"Never underestimate the gossiping powers of Babbette. Now tell me what happened."

"He was acting like an ass, that's what happened. First he started going off about the time, then he was complaining about my clothes..."

"You do look damn sexy in that outfit, you're mother sure has some good fashion sense," Lorelai interrupted.

Rory rolled her eyes and ignored her mother's comments. "He was acting like I was cheating on him or something when he knew about this all along. Like I _wanted _to spend my Friday night going to dinner with a pompous, frat-boy wanna be who thinks he's god's gift to women," she complained as she collapsed onto the sofa.

"So not an enjoyable evening?" Lorelai, asked, joining her daughter on the couch.

"Ugh," she moaned. "He's so friggin' insufferable. He always had to have the last word on everything, he had some annoying response for every word I said. We couldn't find any common ground. And he was constantly acting like I should just be grateful he was even willing to look my way. I swear I've never met anyone so...grr" she finished ineloquently.

"Hmm, interesting," Lorelai remarked, cocking her head to the side to examine her daughter.

"What?"

"You seem awfully perturbed. You don't usually let people get to you like this, except..." she said and then paused.

"Except what?" Rory asked defensively.

"Except Tristan and Jess, and well, we both know how those worked out."

"I hate Tristan with a fiery passion that burns like the sun," Rory replied.

"And yet you kissed him at that party that time."

"I had just broken up with Dean and he'd just broken up with Summer and he looked so pathetic and it was just a moment of weakness. It meant nothing," she replied a little too adamantly.

"And Jess? He used to get to you like this and now you're dating him."

"If you're implying what I think you're implying you can just stop right now."

"What do you think I'm implying?" Lorelai asked innocently.

"I'm sure that nothing good can come from me answering that question. You know what you're doing."

"What am I doing."

"Mom!"

"Daughter!" Lorelai looked straight at Rory, not flinching.

"Fine," the younger Gilmore finally broke down. "Maybe he wasn't _quite_ as obnoxious as I originally thought but it would have been pretty difficult to live down to my expectations so that's not saying a whole lot."

"Hah! You admit it," Lorelai replied triumphantly. "You liiiike him, you want to kiiiiiss him, love him and maaaarry him," she sung out.

"I hate you," Rory retorted, getting up from the couch and marching off to her room leaving a chorus of "Rory and Logan sitting in a tree" in her wake.

* * *

"So you actually expect us to spend our Thanksgiving at some society party with our parents?" Colin asked incredulously. 

"Come on guys, we made a pact. We agreed to never leave one of the others to their own devices at these things," Logan said. It was a few days before Thanksgiving and he was sitting in his common room with Colin and Finn.

"So how about none of us go and we spend Thanksgiving in a proper way, with booze and sexy red head's," Finn argued.

"My parents are _making_ me go," Logan replied.

"You're parents never make you go to any of these things unless they're business related and Thanksgiving at the Gilmore residence is definitely not business related." Colin argued.

"Sure it is, Richard and Emily are still probably trying to marry their granddaughter of to the heir to the Huntzberger fortune. They'll probably be discussing doweries," Finn supplied.

"So _that's_ what this is all about? I thought you were over that. Jeez man, she's not interested, get over it."

"This has nothing to do with Rory," Logan defended. Well, maybe it had _something_ to do with Rory. Finn was probably partly correct. The Gilmore's had clearly liked the idea of a match between him and their granddaughter and likely extended an invitation to their holiday get together for the opportunity to throw the two together again. Not that he would mind seeing her again, she was entertaining to be around and pretty easy on the eyes, but it would be purely platonic. She had a boyfriend, she wasn't his type.

"Sure, and Finn's tan is thanks to his natural love of the sun," Colin retorted.

"Ugh, don't even mention the sun. Why must it be so bright?"

"Because it's a giant, glowing ball of flaming gas," Logan supplied.

"Oh right, well back to the topic. I say we go to this thing. I'm dying to meet the girl who has my best mate so smitten."

"I am _not_ smitten."

"Whatever you say Huntz. Although Finn makes a good point, god help me for just admitting that, but it should be interesting to see this girl. Oh and we're bringing Stephanie, she'll be sure to make this a memorable night."

"I don't know if I should be thankful or terified now," Logan moaned. What the hell had he been thinking?

* * *

**AN2: So I know in the actual show the Gilmore Thanksgiving wasn't an actual party but I'm changing it for my own purposes because I can. (oh and leave a review ;) )**


	5. Running Interference

**AN: Wow, almost a month, I'm super sorry. I haven 't forgotten about this story though, I've just been super busy with school and life and in the little free time I had I was working on Skip a Beat. Hope you like this new update :)**

**Oh, and a lot of the dialogue in this chapter comes from the episode "Deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving"**

* * *

"You ready for this?" Rory asked her mother as they walked up to the elder Gilmore's residence.

"Of course," Lorelai replied emphatically.

"Even with the Cold War?"

"That's been going on for thirty-four years? I can manage," Lorelai rang the doorbell without hesitation.

"It's been a bit colder these past few weeks," Rory reminded her mother.

"Oh no, I'm fine, you know why? Because in two hours – and I do plan on extricating us from here in exactly two hours – the night will be over and I won't have to see them again until next year. Oh, start your stopwatch," Lorelai said with a strained smile as the door swung open.

"Hello," Emily greeted her daughter and granddaughter.

"Hi Grandma. Happy Thanksgiving," Rory replied, handing over the bouquet of flowers they had brought with them.

"Thank you, Rory. Happy Thanksgiving, Lorelai." Emily handed the flowers off to the maid and motioned for Rory and Lorelai to enter.

"Happy Thanksgiving," Lorelai replied before turning to Rory and mumbling, "One hour, fifty-nine minutes, and forty seconds," as they entered the house.

* * *

Rory stood by the buffet table loading her plate up with stuffing and candied yams. Despite the fact that she'd already had three dinners, she found that her appetite was unaffected, and that was a good thing since the food at these parties was usually the only thing that made them bearable; she made a mental note to leave enough room in her stomach for one of her grandmother's famous apple tarts. 

"Hi," a bubbly voice came from behind her as she scooped some cranberries onto her platter. Rory turned around to face a vivacious blonde girl around her age, or perhaps a year or two older.

"Hi…um," Rory began, trying to figure out if she knew the girl.

"Stephanie Vanderbilt. You're Rory, right?"

"Yeah, do I…?"

"No, you don't know me," Steph informed her. "I'm friends with Logan."

"Oh," Rory let out a little laugh. "Well don't worry, I'll try not to hold that against you," she said, shaking Steph's hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Please, the pleasure's all mine. I've been waiting to meet the girl who finally had the sense to put Logan in his place," Steph smiled brightly.

"I thought you were his friend?" Rory asked, confusion etched across her features; why would Steph want her friend to get rejected?

"Oh I am, but it does that boy a world of good to get a serious dose of reality every once in a while; he's got a bit of an ego on him."

"Really?" Rory asked with mock astonishment, "I hadn't noticed."

Steph laughed. "Yeah, I was understating a little, wasn't I?"

"Seriously, you'd think a girl had never turned him down before. I can't be the first, can I?"

Steph squinted her eyes as though deep in thought. "Not the first, no," she said hesitantly. "Possibly the second; there was Miss Murray."

"Who's Miss Murray?"

"Our fourth grade teacher. He was quite taken with her but she just wasn't interested. The poor boy took it hard," Steph informed her new friend with fake pity for Logan.

Rory chuckled, "Has he ever been rejected by someone who wouldn't go to jail for dating him?"

"I don't know, how old was Alyssa Milano when he was ten?" a voice from behind asked.

* * *

"So, have you spoken to your woman yet?" Colin asked his friend as he grabbed a Salmon Puff off the tray of a passing waiter. 

"What woman?" Logan asked.

"Don't play dumb, Huntz; Gilmore."

"First of all, she's not my woman; second of all- no, I haven't seen her." Logan replied with a role of his eyes.

"Well now might be a good time to have a little chat with her because if I'm not mistaken, that's her over by the buffet table with Stephanie and oh look…Honor just joined them."

"What?" Logan asked, suddenly panicked. His head shot up and he immediately began searching the room until he found Rory who was, as Colin had said, talking with Stephanie and Honor. "Crap; that cannot be good."

* * *

"Hmm, I don't know, I think it was probably pretty borderline," Steph answered the new comer, a blonde haired, brown eyed girl in her mid twenties. 

"Alyssa Milano?" Rory asked, wondering why they were talking about the TV star.

"Yes, Logan had a bit of a _Who's the Boss_ fetish back in the day," the older girl explained.

"Oh right, I forgot about that. He wrote her a letter and asked her to be his girlfriend, never heard back," Steph laughed at the memory, turning back to Rory. "So that would make you number three."

"Number three?" The new girl asked.

"Yes; Miss Murray was number one, Alyssa Milano was number two and now Rory is number three."

"Oh, so that's why we're talking about my little brother's rejections; you were one of them. I think I'm going to like you," she smiled at Rory.

"You're Logan's sister?" Rory asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Honor Huntzberger," the girl introduced herself, reaching out to shake Rory's hand.

"Don't believe anything she says," Logan's voice interrupted the conversation.

"So she's not your sister?" Rory asked, turning to face him.

"Oh, well that part's true but the rest is all lies; what did she tell you?"

"Not much, we were just having a nice, little chat about 80's sitcom stars who went on to act in a cheesy WB drama about a trio of witch sisters," Rory told him innocently.

"Oh no," Logan groaned. "Tell me didn't, Honor."

"Hey, don't look at me; Steph started it with her Miss Murray talk."

"You know what? That's OK because I'm not the one who camped out outside that New Kid on the Block singer's room at the Plaza when we were nine. Which one was it again, Steph?"

"Joey," she replied unabashedly.

"Oooh, Joey was my favorite too. The others were too old for me although Jordan was pretty hot too," Rory said.

"I liked Donnie," Honor piped in.

"His brother's way hotter," Steph dismissed.

"Well of course his brother's hotter, his brother is Mark Wahlberg. But Donnie came from the same gene pool and he wasn't too shabby."

Logan laughed at the girls, happy they were no longer discussing him. "Well, I'll leave you girls to your ever important debate. I just wanted to let you know that we've decided on the pool house in half an hour."

"What's in the pool house in half an hour?" Rory asked skeptically.

"Sub-party," Steph told her.

"Rule number one to surviving boring society parties, form a sub-party," Logan expanded.

"A sub-party?"

Yes, we get a group together and go off somewhere to have our own party within the party…makes these things bearable." Honor added.

"Well that sounds like fun but my mother will probably need rescuing soon and she'd kill be if I abandoned her in her time of need."

"I'm sure your mother can handle herself, the grown-ups love these boring parties," Steph naively commented.

"Hah! I'm more of a grown-up than my mother is. Trust me, if I leave her alone too long with my grandparents there's bound to be trouble."

"Well, if you're sure, but if you change your mind you know where to find us," Logan replied, trying to suppress the disappointed feeling in the pit of his stomach; the sub-party would be just as much fun without her…wouldn't it?

"Thanks, but I should go, I actually see her over there with my grandparents and some of their friends as we speak. I should run interference before she says something even more inappropriate than usual," Rory pointed across the room to the small group of people she was talking about.

"See you later, Ace," Logan said and Rory rolled her eyes at the nickname.

"Bye guys," she waved.

"Bye Rory," Steph and Honor called out as she went off to save her mother.

"Oh Rory, there you are dear," Emily said as she approached.

"Hi grandma; grandpa," she greeted.

"Rory, these are our friends, Natalie and Douglas Swope," Richard introduced his granddaughter to the couple standing with them.

Rory set her plate down and reached out her arm. "Hi, it's a pleasure to meet you," she said, shaking their hands.

"You too, Rory," Douglas returned.

"Rory, your grandmother tells me you are a high school senior," Natalie said, striking up a conversation."

"Mmhmm."

"So you're going through this _horrible_ period of applying to college?"

"It's not so horrible," Rory replied.

"She's got it pretty well covered," Richard added proudly.

Lorelai sent a sideways glance at her father, "That's right."

"All your applications are in?"

"I've applied," Rory confirmed with a nod of her head.

"We have a grandson your age, he's going through hell," Douglas joined in the conversation.

"He's already been turned down for early admission to Stanford, his dream," Natalie said disappointedly.

Douglas confirmed this. "Took it pretty hard."

"Children put so much stress on themselves these days," Natalie said ardently.

Rory nodded her head in agreement. "It's pretty stressful."

"He's waiting to hear from his backups. Where did you apply, dear?"

"Harvard."

"No word yet?" Douglas inquired.

"I'm not supposed to hear back for awhile."

"Where else?

Rory shifted uncomfortably on her feet, "Where else?" she repeated Douglas.

"Where else did you apply? Your alternates?"

"We're so curious, it's like we've been going through this ourselves," Natalie explained.

"Well, I'm pretty much counting on Harvard," Rory attempted to circumvent the question.

She had no such luck as Douglas continued with the inquisition. "Well, you didn't apply to just Harvard, did you?"

Rory crossed her arms over her chest and looked away, trying to avoid her mother's eye. "Well, no."

"No?" Lorelai asked in shock. Rory had never mentioned applying to other schools; she was supposed to go to Harvard, it had always been Harvard.

Natalie seemed to notice the sudden discomfort. "Am I prying?"

"No," Rory said unconvincingly, trying to be polite.

"We applied elsewhere?" Lorelai asked, still trying to recover from the fact that her daughter had hid this from her. "Where else did you apply?"

"Just at some other schools," Rory replied, still trying to be evasive.

"Well, if you're aiming at Harvard, that would be Princeton, Yale, maybe Vassar, Wesleyan," Douglas ticked off schools.

"Those are the kinds of places, yup," Rory confirmed uncomfortably.

"The kinds of places or the places?" Lorelai asked pointedly. "Rory?"

"Princeton," Rory paused before finally admitting, "um, Yale,"

"Yale?" Lorelai asked in disbelief even though she had suspected it once Rory had admitted to applying places other than Harvard.

"Yes?" Richard asked hopefully. He wanted nothing more than to see his only grandchild follow in his footsteps and attend his Alma matter.

Lorelai looked accusingly at her father. "Yale, Dad?"

"Oh, this is the first I'm hearing about it, Lorelai," he said, bursting with pride.

"Oh, bull," Lorelai muttered.

"Mom!" Rory scolded.

"Lorelai," Emily also noted her disapproval at her daughter's words.

"You did this," she accused her father.

"I haven't discussed this awful subject since the debacle at the campus," Richard stated matter-of-factly.

"You forced her hand."

"I did nothing of the sort," he replied defensively.

Rory interjected at this point. "Mom, wait."

Lorelai ignored her and continued to yell at Richard. "You made it seem like you'd be deeply hurt if she didn't apply to Yale, and she's very sensitive, so that's as good as forcing her hand."

"Lorelai, really," Emily said, aghast at the impropriety of arguing in front of guests.

"You wanted her to go to Yale instead of Harvard, didn't you?"

"Well, that wasn't a secret," he'd never hid the fact that he was proud to be an Eli and that he would be honored to have a legacy at the school.

"Grandpa didn't force my hand," Rory defended her grandfather as well as herself. Did her mother really think she was so easily manipulated?

"Honey, you weren't aware he was doing it," Lorelai replied, confirming Rory's suspicions.

"She is not a puppet, Lorelai."

"I needed a backup."

Lorelai wasn't convinced, there were a million schools she could go to; she didn't have to choose Yale as a backup. "But why Yale?"

"I could live at home," Rory said as support for her decision.

Lorelai turned her head to look at her mother. "You."

"What?" Emily asked, wondering what her daughter was blaming her for now.

"Well, you got to her. That was your thing," she accused.

"I'm afraid we started this," Natalie said apologetically.

"This is not your doing, Natalie." Emily insisted before turning back to her daughter. "I never spoke to Rory about that."

"I don't believe you."

"I figured it out on my own, Mom."

"You're saying there have been no conversations, no emails?" Lorelai asked her daughter skeptically.

"I can read a map."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "This is unbelievable."

"And past indelicate," Richard added angrily. "We have guests."

"This is paranoia, Lorelai. There's been no conspiring," Emily added.

"I'm not being paranoid, Mom. For seventeen years, she was going to Harvard, and now all of a sudden, she's applied to Yale and she's mimicking everything you say. This is just crazy." Lorelai turned and stormed off.

"I'm sorry, would you excuse me," Rory added, turning and walking off in the opposite direction of her mother. Lorelai had taken the news worse than she had expected. Rory had known her mother would not be happy to hear that she had applied to Yale but for her to accuse her grandparents of forcing this decision on her? It was ridiculous; she was a grown woman, perfectly capable of making her own decisions. She wasn't just some pawn that people could easily manipulate; she had free will.

"Hey Ace, everything OK?" Logan approached her as she stalked across the room towards the patio. He had noticed the argument going on.

"I'm fine, Logan," she said brusquely and kept walking.

"Really? Because that seemed like quite the little scene back there," he pointed in the direction she'd just come from as he scurried alongside her, trying to keep up.

"Thanks that's very reassuring."

"Glad I could help," he said sarcastically. "Now you want to tell me what happened"

"Why?" She stopped walking and glared at him. "So I can cry on your shoulder and then you can 'comfort' me?" She air quoted the word _comfort._ "I don't think so."

"Yes, because clearly the only reason I would be nice to you is if I'm trying to get in your pants," Logan rolled his eyes. "It would never be because I noticed you were upset and just thought you might want to talk about it."

"Well I don't. At least not with you. We're not friends, Logan, we hung out once."

"Well then, if you talk to me now that will make twice? What's the magic number? 7? 12? 15? How many times do we have to 'hang out' before we're friends?" He reasoned.

She had startled herself with the harshness of her words. Sure Logan was a nuisance but he was trying to be nice and she was acting like a bitch. She was just upset with her mother and she was taking it out on him. "I'm sorry, Logan," she apologized. "I shouldn't be taking this out on you. I'm just frustrated."

"Well you know, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want. There's a sub-party about to start; that's a sure fire way to cheer you up," he suggested. "You could get to meet the rest of the gang. I'm sure they'll all love you as much as Steph and Honor do."

Rory thought about it for a moment. She wouldn't need to come to her mother's aid for the rest of the night now; she might as well go try and enjoy herself, right? She smiled at him. "Sure, that sounds like fun."

* * *

**Please leave a review; pretty please with sugar and a cherry on top ;)**


	6. Cornstarch, CPR, and new friends

**AN: I wanted to have this up on Thursday what with the chapter taking place during Thanksgiving and all but I just didn't get it done in time and now is acting up and all, like usual. I had to get crafty to figure out a way to upload this chapter but I did it ;) And seriously, when are they going to fix the alert system? I think this is the lonest it's ever been down. I miss getting e-mails about reviews and updates. Well anyhow back on track, I know this is 2 days late but you can just get some left overs out and pretend it's still Thanksgiving. I hope you enjoy, and don't forget to review because I _love_ reviews :)**

* * *

Rory and Logan entered the pool house which was already filled with all the young adults forced to attend a Gilmore Thanksgiving. Logan motioned to an empty spot on the couch. "Sit down, I'll get you something to drink," he offered. 

"Oh, no, I don't drink," she replied.

"This lovely creature speaks blasphemy, Logan," Rory heard someone say in an Australian accent. She turned around to face a tall brunet. "Finnegan Morgan, at your service, Love," he introduced himself before taking the seat next to her on the couch. "Now what is this I hear about not drinking?"

"I'm only 18, it's illegal," she told him.

Finn scoffed, "It's legal in Australia," he argued.

"We're not in Australia," she reminded him.

"Damn shame too," he pouted. "Such a lovely country."

By this point Stephanie had worked her way over to the group along with Colin and Honor. "Are you trying to tell us you've never done anything against the law?"

"Well…I've J-walked before," she admitted ruefully, "oh and there was that one time I shop lifted but it was an accident."

"An accident?" Colin asked, curious as to how she _accidentally _shop lifted.

Rory gave him an odd look, wondering who he was. Stephanie picked up on this and made the introductions. "Oh Rory, this is my…Colin" she told her, steering clear of the "b" word; Stephanie and Colin's relationship was undefined but what ever they labeled it, it involved a lot of sex. "So now that you know who everyone is, tell us about this accidental shop lifting," Steph instructed, as everyone took seats on the various chairs, sofas and ottomans surrounding the coffee table in the middle of the room with Logan taking the third seat on the couch next to Rory. Steph watched as he instinctively moved to put his arm around her shoulders then paused and took it back.

"It's stupid, really," Rory assured them, not wanting to get into such an embarrassing story in front of people she had just met.

"Come on," Honor pried. "Did you at least steal something good?"

"It was cornstarch," she admitted bashfully, casting her eyes downward.

"Cornstarch?" Logan laughed. "What the hell were you doing with cornstarch anyhow? What does anyone do with cornstarch for that matter? Does it even have a purpose?" he wondered.

"It's really stupid, I'm telling you," she tried to convince them. Why did she have to go and bring up the cornstarch incident anyhow?

"Come now, Love. You can tell us. You can't of done anything more embarrassing than any of us."

"Yeah, especially Finn; he's great at looking like a fool. Johnny Knoxville would be stunned at his ability to make an ass out of himself," Colin commented dryly.

"I may act like an arse sometimes but at least I have fun doing it," Finn said defensively.

"Come on, Rory," Steph pleaded. "Tell us about the cornstarch."

Rory looked at the group surrounding her. She didn't know what it was but she actually felt comfortable around them. She'd expected a bunch of society kids like these to look down upon her but they were treating her as one of their own. And they themselves were so open with her. After a few moments of thought she finally relented. "Fine."

"Yay! Story time," Finn clapped his hands excitedly, bouncing up and down in his seat. Rory shot him an exasperated look and he settled down.

"So it was just after Dean had moved to Stars Hollow," she began.

"Dean?" Logan asked.

"Ex-boyfriend," she said off-handedly before continuing on. "Anyhow, he was working at the grocery store and one day I went in there to see him. But of course I wound up getting nervous and so I just pretended to be looking at groceries. When he approached me I freaked out and grabbed the first thing my hand touched…"

"A box of cornstarch," Honor said, getting the picture.

"Yeah. So we started talking and all the while I'm holding onto the box of cornstarch. Then all of a sudden he leans forward and kisses me. I was so shocked I didn't know what to do, so I said 'thank you' and then I ran away."

"You ran away?" Stephanie asked incredulously, chuckling light heartedly at the image.

"Ouch, that could not have been good for the poor boy's ego," Colin remarked.

"No girl has ever run after a delish-kiss with this Aussie delight," Finn said proudly. The group just ignored him.

"Don't worry about it Ror," Steph said. "First kisses are always awkward. I found out that the first boy who kissed me only did it as a dare. And Logan's first kiss, now _that's_ a funny story."

Logan glared angrily at Steph for bringing up such an embarrassing moment in his life. She would pay for that, he'd make sure of it.

"Ooh, tell us," Rory said excitedly, turning to look at Logan.

"I don't think so, Ace," he replied. That was not a humiliation he was ready to share with Rory.

"I'll tell it," Steph replied gleefully. Rory looked at her attentively. "He was nine and he was having a pool party for our whole class. There was this girl; I think her name was Jillian. Anyhow, she tried to take a dive off the high diving board and instead wound up doing a belly flop. When she didn't resurface after a few seconds, Logan flipped out thinking she had died. He dove in and pulled her out of the water and started doing CPR on her since we'd just learned about it in school. All of a sudden her eyes flew open and her arms went around his neck and she pulled him down for a kiss way beyond what one would consider appropriate for a nine year old. He was so startled he stumbled, tripped over her, and fell head first into the pool, nearly cracking his head open in the process."

"Oh my god what I wouldn't have given to have seen that," Rory laughed hysterically.

"It was priceless," Steph admitted, laughing along with her new friend.

"Oh that's right," Logan said sarcastically. "Yuck it up. I'm glad my near death experience is of such amusement to you."

Rory was about to respond with a snappy comeback when her cell phone started ringing. She pulled it out of her pocket to look at the caller ID. She stopped laughing and sighed. "Sorry guys,' she apologized for the interruption as she flipped her cell phone open.

"Hi Mom," she answered, her voice conveying the frustration she was still feeling over the argument earlier.

_"Where are you? I've been looking all over the house for you." _

"I'm around," she answered vaguely.

_"Well we're leaving so meet me in the foyer,"_ Lorelai commanded.

Rory looked around at the group, chatting quietly amongst themselves. She was having fun here and she really didn't want to have to sit in a car with her mother for half an hour listening to her rant about the evils of Yale and how her grandparents were manipulative puppet masters controlling her every move. "You go ahead without me. I'm going to stay here a little while longer."

_"Excuse me? You do realize I'm your ride, don't you? So unless you plan on hitch hiking back to Stars Hollow I suggest you get your butt over here." _

"Hold on one second, Mom," Rory told her, then turned her attention to her new friends. "Hey could one of you guys give me a ride home later?" she asked.

"I got ya, Ace," Logan agreed, patting her on the knee.

"Thanks," she replied, then replaced the phone to her ear, " Logan's going to give me a ride. I'll see you at home later."

" _Logan__?"_ Lorelai asked incredulously. _"The same __Logan__ whose guts you hated last time I checked? What words did you use to describe him? Egotistical, insufferable, arrogant, pompous…would you like me to go on?" _

"Well I like him more than I like you right now," she snapped, immediately regretting the words that came out of her mouth. What was wrong with her? First she acted like a total bitch to Logan and now she was doing it to her mother. She was just so tired of being treated like a child who was incapable of making her own decisions, but that wasn't an excuse to keep snapping at people. "I'm sorry Mom, I didn't mean that."

"I'll see you at home later," Lorelai said coldly before hanging up the phone. Rory listened to the dial tone for a moment before snapping her phone shut and stuffing it into her bag.

"You OK?" Logan asked her for the second time that night. This time she answered him honestly.

"We never fight," she said sadly.

"Your Mom?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"So what happened?'

"Yale," she replied.

"Huh?"

"She found out I applied to Yale."

"What do you mean she found out you applied to Yale? She was there when you toured the campus," he reminded her.

"And the Gilmore's are a Yale legacy," Colin added.

"Exactly," she responded. "Yale is my grandparent's school therefore my mother hates it. My whole life we've always planned for me to go to Harvard…"

"Harvard?" Logan cut in. "I don't think I can associate with you anymore, Ace."

"Gee, if I knew that was all it took I would have told you sooner," she shot back, but she was smiling.

"So you really want to go to _Harvard_?" Steph asked her.

"That's the thing…I don't know anymore. I think I do but what if it's really her dream and not mine. I had to keep my options open; I had to apply to other schools. But I think she sees it as some sort of betrayal. I'm going against the plan."

"Believe us; we know what that's like. None of us had any options. Yale wasn't just a plan for us it was a destiny. It sounds like you at least have some options. Your Mom may be mad right now but ultimately it's your choice. Don't take that kind of freedom for granted," Logan told her.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I just hate fighting with her," she sighed. She just wanted her Mom to be proud of her but Logan was right; ultimately she had to make the decision that was right for her, not the one that would make her mom the happiest.

"Well from what you've told me it seems like you guys have a really good relationship, I'm sure she'll understand that you just want to consider your options more carefully."

"Yeah and we can help you consider Yale. After all, we can't willingly let Harvard snatch up all the hot co-eds." Finn commented happily.

"Yeah you can come visit us and we can show you around the campus," Steph said excitedly. She really liked Rory and besides, it would be fun to keep throwing her and Logan together. Logan was obviously in denial about his feelings for this girl and she could sense something from Rory's end as well, though it was much more subtle. Sure there was that boyfriend to consider but she'd deal with that when the time came.

"I've already seen the campus with my grandparents," she reminded them.

"You've seen the educational Yale. We can show you the fun Yale."

"Oh please," Stephanie scoffed at Colin. "What do you know about 'Fun Yale,' Mr. stick up your ass?"

"You never seem to question my ability to have fun when we're in the bedroom," he shot back at her.

"True, but I don't think that's the kind of fun Rory wants us to show her."

"Yes, please don't," Rory replied.

"OK then, it's settled, we're going to show Ace here a fun, non-kinky, Yale experience," Logan replied, keen to end the Colin-Steph sex talk. "You have dinner with your grandparents on Friday's right?" he asked her.

"Yeah."

"So how about we pick you up from Chilton after school, you can hang with us for a bit and then we can drop you off here in time for dinner."

Rory looked around the room at her quirky new friends and smiled. "That sounds good," she agreed.

Logan smiled back at her. "Good, then it's a plan."

* * *

"Thanks guys. I had a great time tonight," Rory told the group as the limo pulled to a stop outside her home in Stars Hollow. "I never thought I'd say that about time spent at one of my grandparent's parties, but I really did." 

"The pleasure was all ours, Ace," Logan responded sincerely, she fit in well with the group and she was fun to have around. "It's always good to get some new blood in the group, mix things up a bit."

"Plus it helps even out the estrogen-testosterone ratio. These guys can be a bit much to handle by myself," Steph told her.

Rory opened the door and climbed out of the limo. "I'll see you guys next week," she waved good bye before shutting the door and watching the car drive off.

She stood in front of the house for a moment just staring. It was time to go in and face her mother. She sighed and walked in the front door. "Mom?" she called out tentatively.

"In here," Lorelai responded unenthusiastically. Rory followed her mother's voice to the kitchen and joined her at the table where she was gnawing on some biscuits.

"You're eating?" Rory asked in amazement.

"Well I didn't really get to eat at your grandparents and I realized that with only three Thanksgiving dinners consumed, skipping the rolls was unnecessary. Luke had some leftovers," Lorelai replied conversationally but it definitely felt forced. Rory could tell she was still mad.

"I'm really sorry about what I said on the phone, Mom."

"Yeah well…" Lorelai trailed off.

"Are you mad?" Rory asked timidly.

"No," Lorelai responded tersely, not looking up from her biscuit.

"You're not very convincing."

"I'm not mad I'm just…" she trailed off but finally looked up to meet Rory's eyes.

"What?"

"I don't know- nervous I guess."

"About what?"

"Losing you to them, to their whole world. It's just…I got out of there for a reason, Rory."

"You won't lose me," she promised her mom.

"I already am."

"What are you talking about?"

"You want to go to Yale, don't you?"

"I don't know," Rory admitted. "I've never really considered anything but Harvard. How do I know that Yale's not right for me unless I look into it? But even if I do wind up there, that doesn't mean I'm going to turn into some socialite. All kinds of people attend Yale, not just young Richard and Emily Gilmore types."

"And Logan?"

"What about Logan?" she asked, wondering how he fit into this conversation.

"One minute you hate his guts and the next you're willingly hanging out with him and his friends and getting rides in their limos."

"Well maybe I misjudged him, but that doesn't mean I'm going to become him. I'm you're daughter, nothing can change that. I might not stay exactly the same for the rest of my life but there's a little piece of you in me and that will always be there."

"Just be careful, Rory. They'll pull you in. They make that kind of life seem so glamorous and exciting but it's not. Just be careful," she reiterated.

"Mom," Rory said hesitantly. She wanted to be completely upfront. "They want to show me around Yale next week."

Lorelai sighed. She didn't like this; she didn't like it at all. She'd tried so hard to keep Rory from that life and all the pain it would inevitably bring her and here it was, practically banging down their doorstep. But she couldn't protect her kid anymore, she _wasn't_ a kid anymore. "I can't tell you who to hang out with or what to do anymore. You're a big girl now. Just try and remember what I said."

"I know Mom, I'll be careful," Rory promised. "So fight over?" she asked.

"Fight over," Lorelai confirmed with a nod of her head.

"Good, I don't like fighting with you."

"Right back atcha, kid," Lorelai agreed. "Biscuit?" she offered her daughter the bag of rolls Luke had given her.

"Don't mind if I do," Rory said happily, grabbing a roll and taking a hearty bite out of it. "Thanks for this by the way," she said through her mouthful of bread.

"For what?" Lorelai smiled at her lack of manners. Maybe there was still hope for her after all.

"The ability to eat three and a half thanksgiving dinners _and_ rolls without weighing 300 pounds."

"Yes, that was one of my better gifts to you, if I do say so myself."

"I love you, Mom."

"Love you to, kid."


	7. Fun Yale

**AN: Sorry this took so long, I had finals and then I was moving and then I kinda got caught up in my other story, Life as We Know It. I'm gonna try at least one more chapter up before I go back to schoo..probably two because after that updates will probably be very slow. Hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

"Hey Mare." 

Rory ignored the voice from behind her as she continued to pile the books she would need for the weekend into her back pack. She closed her locker and finally turned around to see that the owner of the voice was still standing there. "Can I help you, Tristan?" she asked the tall, blond boy.

"So accommodating, I like this side of you, Mary." Rory just glared at him; one would think that after three years of hitting on her he would, a-learn her name and b- get the hint that she wasn't interested, but neither seemed to be the case.

"What do you want, Tristan?" she asked icily as she slung her back pack over her shoulders and headed towards Chilton's front doors.

"You— shoved against a locker with your tongue in my mouth," he replied with out missing a beat as he hurried after her.

Rory almost gagged at the image that had just been placed in her head; had the boy never even heard of the word "tact"? "Well why don't you go home and take a nice nap, because that dream world you're living in is about as close as you're ever going to get."

"You wound me Mary, really you do," he replied.

She stopped walking to turn and look at him. "Go _away_, Tristan."

"And leave you to fend for yourself amongst these crazy masses? What kind of gentleman would I be if I did that?" Rory looked around and for the first time she noticed that the students around her— or at least the female ones— seemed to be in some kind of frenzy.

"What the heck is going on?" she asked, mostly to herself, but Tristan answered her anyway.

"They must be going crazy because they heard I'm free tomorrow night and an opening for a date with my fine specimen of a being might be available; don't worry though, I'm giving you first dibs."

"Well you can go give someone else second dibs, because I'm not interested." At that moment Rory saw two familiar and very flustered faces hurry by and she scurried to catch up with them. "Madeleine! Louise!" she called after her two friends, or as close as to friends as she had at this school; they were ditzy, and superficial, but underneath it, they weren't too bad to hang out with. They were sure to know what was going on.

The two girls turned to look at her. "Oh my god, Rory. You won't believe who's here," Madeleine, the brunette of the duo, gushed.

"Umm…Elvis?" Rory speculated, wondering who could be causing such uproar.

"Please, with his hair? So not hot. No, this is way better," Louise responded.

"I wonder who he's here for," Madeleine pondered.

"Who who's here for?" Rory asked, still not understanding what was going on.

Both girls turned to look at her, as though she were crazy for not being up on these things. "Logan Huntzberger, of course," Madeleine told her.

Rory held back a snort. All of this hubbub was seriously about _Logan?_

"He _never_ dates high school girls," Louise explained.

Madeleine sighed, "I wish it was me. My mother would have a coronary if I bagged myself a Huntzberger— but don't worry, it would be a totally happy death."

"Is that who all this fuss is about?" Tristan asked, finally catching up with them. "What would anyone want with that fool?"

"I wouldn't diss him, Tristan, he's you— only on college and with bigger muscles and more money," Louise reminded him.

"And a soul," Rory muttered to herself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

The group surrounding her accepted her answer and moved on.

"I can't believe he's dating a Chilton girl," Louise said. "This could totally put us on the map."

"Huh?" Rory would never get what went through these girl's heads.

"If Logan Huntzberger is willing to date a Chilton girl, all the other hot, rich, college men will think we're worthy too," the blonde clarified her previous statement.

"Maybe if we find out who the lucky girl is, she can set us up with one of his friends…I hear he's got this hot Australian friend, Finn Morgan, who owns a whole bunch of vineyards. He's totally loaded."

_Vineyards_? Rory laughed to herself. That certainly explained a lot.

"Plus, the accent is really hot," Louise added.

"Please," Tristan scoffed. "Accents are so overrated."

Madeleine and Louise both turned to look at him as though he had two heads. Even Rory found this comment amusing. "No, actually even I have to admit that Finn's accent is pretty sexy."

The girls turned to look at her, mouths agape. "Do you _know_ him?" they asked excitedly.

"We met at Thanksgiving," Rory said off handedly.

"Was he as hot as they say?"

"Did he talk about his vineyards? Just how rich is he?"

"Do you know Logan too? Do you know who he's dating?" the girls gushed excitedly, firing off questions quicker than Rory could answer them, even if she wanted to, which she didn't.

They made it out of the school and into the parking lot. "There he is. Let's wait and see who meets him," Madeleine suggested eagerly.

Rory looked to where Madeleine was pointing and there was Logan, leaning against a red Mustang. "Geez, how many cars does he own?" she asked to nobody in particular, but all six ears around her heard and immediately perked up.

"Oh my god, you _do _know him," Louise raved. "Who's he dating?"

"He's not dating anyone…well actually, I'm pretty sure he's dating every blonde bimbo at Yale, which you would think would make for a rather small dating pool but I guess Yale likes bimbos more than they want to let on— but he's not dating anyone from Chilton, that I know of."

"What do you mean? Of course he is, why else would he be here?"

Before Rory could answer she heard a voice cut through the crowd. "Ace!" She looked up to see Logan smiling and waving at her.

She rolled her eyes and waved back. "Bye guys; see you Monday," she said, walking off towards Logan and leaving two very stunned girls and one very bitter boy behind.

"Hey Logan," she said as she reached the car.

"Good to see you, Ace," he replied, helping her off with her backpack and placing it in the backseat of the Mustang before giving her a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Such a gentleman," she smiled at him.

"Well I guess all those years Mom forced me to go to charm school are starting to pay off," he smirked at her.

"Yeah well, maybe you can turn the charm down a notch; I think I just made a hundred new enemies."

"Oh I don't believe that, who could hate you?"

"Umm, every girl at school who's convinced that you're here to pick up your _date._ You're the talk of the school, you know."

"Really?" he replied with a smirk.

"I know; it's a mystery to me too." She shrugged.

"Well, you know, if they're gonna talk we could give them something to _really_ talk about," he said suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I don't think so, Huntzberger."

"No? Hmm, then I guess I'll just have to settle for your company, sans inappropriate touching," he relented, opening her car door for her and then shutting it behind her. He walked around to his side of the car and jumped in without even bothering with the door. She stared at him incredulously for a moment.

"Show off."

"What? The door's a hassle."

"What are you even doing with the top down anyway? It's freezing out," she told him.

"Actually, according to the handy-dandy thermometer on my dashboard, it's only 35 degrees Fahrenheit, and freezing is at 32," he argued.

"Just put the damn top up, Logan."

"Fine, fine, if you insist." He pressed a button and the top of the convertible came up, encasing them from the elements. Logan pulled out into the streets and headed to Yale.

"Can we stop by your dorm or something? I need to change my outfit," she requested.

"Well, if a beautiful girl wants me to take her back to my place to get naked, who am I to say no?" he replied playfully. "Although why you want to change is beyond me; you look _very_ cute."

She rolled her eyes at him; she felt like she did that so often in his presence that she was starting to get dizzy. "I am_ not_ walking all around Yale in my Chilton uniform."

"But you've got this great 'Hit Me Baby, One More Time,' look going for ya. Just tie up your blouse to show off your belly button, throw your hair in some pig tails and do a little dance and you'll have all the college boys drooling."

"Oh just what I want— to emulate Brittany Spears and have horny college boys ogle me."

"Well I'd get used to it, Ace, because you're hot and the boys at are gonna ogle whether you like it or not. Don't worry though, most will be discreet about it. We Yale men are very upstanding citizens, after all."

Rory snorted in response.

"I'm sorry, did you just _snort_?"

"I'm sorry; did you just call yourself an upstanding citizen?"

"Well what do you think I am, some sort of…miscreant?"

"Nope; miscreant doesn't quite cut it, I'd say you're more of…a butt-faced miscreant."

"Butt-faced miscreant?" he asked incredulously. "Seriously, Ace? A butt-faced miscreant? I'm hurt that you think so lowly of me."

"Well if it makes you feel any better, you're kind of a cute butt-faced miscreant."

"So you finally admit it; you think I'm cute." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh yeah, I just want to pinch you cheek and wuv you and hug you and squish you to pieces," she replied in a little kid voice while giving his cheek a little squeeze.

"So if I'm a butt-faced miscreant does that mean you just grabbed my ass?"

"I…you…" she sighed in frustration when she couldn't come up with an appropriate comeback. "I hate you," she finally replied, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning back into the seat. "Stupid, butt-faced miscreant," she mumbled.

Logan just laughed as he continued to drive down the highway.

* * *

So I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that not all dorms here at Yale look like yours does?" Rory asked as they walked through the campus. 

"Ours may be a little nicer than most. And they don't usually come with the leather sofa, you kind of have to provide that yourself."

"And the full-size bed?"

"Hmm, no originally it came with a twin but my dates found it to be a tad bit crowded, especially when there were two of them."

"Ugh, gross, Logan."

"Kidding, Ace," he assured her.

"Hey, give us a location?" someone's voice cut through the crowded quad.

"What was that?" Rory asked.

Logan nodded his head off to the left where a group of eccentric looking students stood in a circle, gesturing wildly. "Crazy drama students…think they're on _Whose Line_," he explained. "Hell," he yelled at the group of improvisationalists.

Rory gave him a dirty look. "What?" he replied innocently. "It's a town in Michigan."

"You're kidding? There's seriously a town called Hell?"

"Yep. I had to go there for a business meeting with my Dad once. Finn got in his car and followed me there just so that he could tell people he followed me to Hell and back. He even brought his cat, Rover, and put her in a picnic basket so he could say his cat went to Hell in a hand basket. Oh and it was winter so there was snow and he took a picture so that when girls told him 'when Hell freezes over,' he have evidence to support his argument."

Rory laughed. "Finn sure is something else, isn't he?"

"Yep, but the really funny part of all of this is that one time, it actually worked."

"You're kidding," Rory said, not believing that any girl would actually fall for that, there was no way.

"I swear to god. He showed some girl the picture and the next morning I caught her sneaking out of his room with her shirt on inside out."

"Wow, some girls will believe anything if it's said with a sexy accent."

"Tell me about it," he laughed.

"So where to first, Huntzberger?" Rory asked, changing the topic. "Are the others meeting us?"

"They're meeting us at our first and only stop, Ace."

"Only one stop? I thought you were giving me a tour of 'fun Yale.'

"Ace, Ace, Ace, have you learned nothing? Fun Yale is wherever we are…and where we usually are, is the Pub."

"A Pub? Logan, you know I don't drink."

"You don't have to drink, they do have coffee. It's a cool scene, ever since they did away with folk night, that is," he insisted. "Plus, they have the best burgers within walking distance."

"Well I _do_ like coffee, and burgers," she relented. "But I bet it can't hold a candle to Luke's."

"Well there's only one way to find out," he goaded.

She seemed to think about this for a moment before finally giving in. "Fine, to the Pub."

"To the Pub!" he cheered.

* * *

"She seems to fit in well," Steph told Logan as they sat at a table in the Pub. 

Logan looked over to the jukebox where Rory and Finn were arguing over what song they should play next. Although they were fighting, both their faces seemed to exude happiness. Finn swung his arms around wildly, clearly trying to make a point. Rory scowled playfully and poked her finger into his chest. Logan smiled to himself. "She certainly does," he admitted.

"I like her."

"That seems to be the popular position," It was true, every one of his friends loved her.

"You like her, too."

"She's cool. Smart, funny. Like I said, she fits in."

"Pretty," Steph added pointedly.

"Not this again, Steph," Logan said exasperatedly.

"What? You don't think she's pretty?"

Logan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, she's pretty, so what?"

"Nothing, I'm just saying…she's pretty, you're pretty. You're even kind of pretty together."

"She's also probably pretty with her boyfriend."

"And if there was no pretty boyfriend then…"

"Then nothing Steph. She has a boyfriend and I have…well, not a girlfriend. A whole lot of not girlfriends as a matter of fact. There's nothing between me and Rory. We're friends. She's fun to hang with but that's the extent of it. Give it up Steph."

Stephanie decided to let it drop for the time being. "Maybe we should invite her to hang with us more often. Like, we could make this 'Friday-afternoon-before-her-grandparents',' thing regular."

"Yeah," he looked back at Rory who was laughing at something Finn had said. He could practically see her bright blue eyes shining from all the way across the room. "I like that idea."

* * *

Rory sat down at an empty table in the cafeteria and went to pull out the copy of "To Call it Sleep," she was currently reading but she was interrupted before she even had a chance to open it. 

"Well, well, if it isn't Mary," Tristan sang out, slamming his hand down on the book to keep her from opening it. "Or maybe that nickname isn't appropriate anymore—should we change it to Magdalene?"

"You know, it's December and in the spirit of the holidays, I'm going to pretend I didn't just here you call me a whore, and go back to ignoring you," she said, pulling her book away from him and opening it to her book mark.

"So you're not denying it then?"

She sighed and looked up at Tristan. "Denying what?" she asked, against her better judgment.

"Sleeping with Huntzberger of course."

"I'm sorry, I must be having a stroke, it sounded like you just accused me of having sex with Logan."

"Everyone knows he doesn't date girls who don't put out."

"I am _not_ dating Logan, and I am _definitely _not sleeping with Logan. I have a boyfriend for god's sake."

"Ah yes, Diner Boy. Great replacement you found for Bag Boy. He probably wouldn't like it too much if he knew you were off getting horizontal with Huntz."

"Oh my god, I am _not_ having sex with Logan," she replied exasperatedly.

"Tell me it's not true, Gilmore," a very disgruntled blonde girl asked as she sat down at the table next to Tristan.

"You better not be referring to this ridiculous rumor about me and Logan," she replied to Paris, the student body president to her vice-president.

"So you're not dating him."

"God no. What the hell is everyone's trauma today?"

"Because a whole lot of people saw you get into his car Friday afternoon…and he gave you a kiss."

"Are you referring to the _friendly_ peck on the cheek he gave me before taking me to a very public place to hang out with the friends I met at my grandparents' Thanksgiving party?"

"Huntzberger doesn't do friendly with girls—at least not your kind of friendly. You know he's trying to get in your pants."

"If he hasn't already," Tristan mumbled petulantly.

"He's not trying to get in my pants Paris," Rory insisted. "OK, I'll admit he _was_ trying to get in my pants when we first met but he knows I'm with Jess and he and I are just friends."

This was the moment when Madeline and Louise chose to join the table. "Oh my god, is he a good kisser?" Madeleine asked.

"Forget about kissing, I want to know about the good stuff," Louise argued.

"Where'd he take you?"

"Do you think you could introduce me to Finn?"

Rory just sighed, dropping her head down on the table. It was going to be a very long lunch.

* * *

**Psst...this is the point in time where one would generally leave a review ;)**


	8. Carnivals and ShowDowns

**AN: OK guys, next chapter. I hope you like it. I'm not too sure how I feel about it; it was really difficult to write and I think that kind of made me lose my prespective so it could suck or it could not and I wouldn't really know the difference at this point. Let me know what you think.**

* * *

"You know what just occurred to me? That we are very fortunate to have good teeth," Rory commented, pulling away from Jess's embrace. They were kissing and walking through the town square after school one January afternoon as the snow fell around them.

"Yes, very fortunate," Jess agreed just for agreements sake, he was much more interested in kissing than talking and so he leaned in for another lip-lock, hoping to engage her lips in something other than her incessant babbling.

"Can you imagine if braces were involved in this interaction?" she asked, pulling away from him yet again.

"It'd be a bloodbath," he mumbled appeasingly as he backed her up against the gazebo and kissed her once more.

"I can't catch my breath," she complained as he continually assaulted her lips with his own.

Jess was getting tired of the constant interruptions to their make out session. "You're not supposed to," he reminded her. He began to kiss any area of exposed skin he could get his lips on.

"Hey, listen, next Thursday night is the Stars Hollow High Winter Carnival."

"Oh yeah?" he mumbled, barely paying attention to the words that were leaving her mouth.

Rory continued talking despite the fact that he clearly wasn't listening; maybe he'd be distracted enough to actually agree. "Yeah, I thought we could go, meet Lane there."

"Nope." He didn't even miss a beat. There was no way in hell he was going to that ridiculous carnival.

"But it'd be really fun," she coaxed. Jess attempted to shush her but she kept on talking anyway. "They'll have really bad games and really bad food and the marching band will play and –"

"Rory," he interrupted her ramble. "I'm doing some of my best work here and you're just talking right through it."

"Come on, let's go to the carnival." She batted her eye lashes at him.

"I don't go to these stupid town things," he replied, not falling victim to her big, doe eyes.

What was he talking about? He went to town things. "You went to the Bid-A-Basket festival. You went to the dance marathon," she pointed out.

"That was when I was trying to get you. I now have you. That means I don't have to go anymore." He wasn't about to waste his time at these things working for something he already had.

"You're serious?" she asked him incredulously. Now that he was her boyfriend he thought he didn't have to put effort into their relationship anymore?

"As a heart attack." What part of this wasn't she comprehending?

"But it'll be fun," she whined.

"We can have our own fun," he gave her a crooked smile and raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"I can't miss the winter carnival." She went every year, it was tradition.

"Rory, come on," he said impatiently, placing a kiss on her cheek.

"Well, I never have. I can't. Just go with me, please," she begged.

"Look, how 'bout you go to the festival, meet Lane, and then I'll hook up with you afterwards." If it was that important to her he supposed he couldn't stop her from going, but there was no way he would be seen at that thing.

"Jess," she made one last effort to change his mind.

"That's my final offer, man."

There was really no convincing him. "Fine," she relented.

"Fine," he agreed as he went back to kissing her; she finally gave in, kissing him back as they walked out into the street, just as a car drove by.

"We're gonna walk right in front of a car one of these days."

* * *

"Quick, I need some girl talk…stat," Steph pleaded with her friend. It was Friday afternoon and Rory was in the Pub with the Yalies as she had been every Friday afternoon since Thanksgiving, a month and a half ago. "Those three are driving me insane." Steph nodded her head towards the bar where the three boys were chatting up a group of girls. 

"Doesn't that bother you?" Rory asked, looking at the guys.

"What?"

"Watching Colin hit on other girls." Stephanie was sleeping with Colin and yet she seemed to have no problem watching him with other girls. Rory didn't think she'd ever be able to handle something like that, no matter how she felt about the guy.

"Nah," Steph replied, actually sounding sincere.

"I just don't get it; it would bother me so much."

"Colin is a huge commitment-phobe, just like the others. The three of them have their whole lives planned out for them and they cling to the little bit of freedom they have. I think they could all settle down if given the right reason." Steph looked pointedly at Rory but Rory either didn't recognize it, or chose to ignore it. "But I don't want to do that to Colin. If he's happy pretending he's not in a committed relationship then I'll let him cling to that little illusion. When it comes down to it, I know the truth—I'm the one he really cares about."

"But he's sleeping around…"

Steph scoffed. "No he's not."

"He's not? But I thought…"

"What? That just because he flirts with those girls it means he brings them back to his room and does ungodly things to them? He doesn't. It's just flirting. I do it too, but at the end of the night, we always wind up together. At this point, calling him my boyfriend, it's just a matter of semantics, and I'm OK with that. I can understand how our set up might not work for other people and I'm not saying I think it would be wrong to ask him for a formal commitment, but this works for us; no need to go messing with something that isn't broken."

"I guess." Rory still wasn't sure she understood but if her friends were happy with their arrangement then that was all that mattered.

"Now, speaking of boyfriends, why don't you tell me all about yours. How are things with you and Jess?"

"Things with Jess and me are…good"

"Wow, don't sound too convincing there," Steph replied, noting the uncertainty in Rory's voice.

"No really, they are. He's sweet—to me anyway. And he's smart; he doesn't apply himself but I know he is. We have the same taste in music and books and we never seem to run out of things to talk about and well…" Rory's face reddened slightly. "The other stuff is good too."

Steph laughed. "The _other_ stuff? You mean the sex?"

"No!" The slight red in Rory's cheeks turned into a full on blush.

"No?" Steph asked, slightly shocked. Dugrey's Mary really was a Mary? She knew Rory was a bit…innocent, but she honestly didn't think she was _that_ innocent. "You mean you and Jess haven't…?"

Rory shook her head adamantly in reply.

"So you've never…?"

"I know, you probably think that's weird but I'm just not ready for it."

"No," Steph assured her. "I was just surprised. I guess I sometimes forget that you're younger than us; plus you and Jess have been together for a while so I just assumed, but there's nothing wrong with it." And there wasn't anything wrong with it…except for the fact that it put a serious road block in her hopes for an eventual Rory and Logan pairing. Logan would never touch her if he knew; he was already erecting all these defenses to keep himself from falling for her. Well, for now Steph would keep this information to herself. She could only deal with one problem at a time and the first problem was convincing Rory that this Jess guy was no good for her. Of course she had to know something about Jess first… "So is that the problem with Jess? He's not…pressuring you or anything is he?"

"No. Well, I mean he clearly wants to, he's not hiding that fact, or if he is he's doing a really crappy job of it, but he's not pushing or anything."

"OK, then what is the problem?"

"Nothing, it's stupid. I just wish that sometimes he could be a bit more…considerate, I guess."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, like this next Thursday, our town is having this winter carnival and I asked him to go with me. It's idiotic and cheesy and the food will be bad and the booths will be stupid but that's its charm; you know."

"And he doesn't want to go?"

"He flat out refused. He said he doesn't do stupid town things which is ridiculous because he's done stupid town things before but he said that was because he was trying to get me and now that he has me he doesn't have to go anymore."

Was she serious? He really told her that? What kind of asshole says something like that? And right to her face, too. He wasn't even going to _pretend_ to be a good boyfriend? "He said that to you?"

"Yeah," Rory replied.

"Right to your face?" If this Jess was seriously the kind of asshole who would say something like that to her, than Rory deserved so much better. Forget about them breaking up so Rory could finally make an honest man out of Logan, Rory just needed to dump this asshole, period.

"Uh huh."

"And you let him get away with it?"

"It's not a big deal, Steph."

"Not a big deal? Rory, he spoke to you like you're just some prize to be won and now that he has, he can just set you aside on a shelf and take you out to play whenever he sees fit. That sounds like a pretty big deal to me. You're his girlfriend, not some little toy he can use for his own amusement."

"It's not like that."

"Then what is it like?"

"Can we not talk about this anymore," Rory requested.

"Fine, if he won't go to the carnival with you, then we will. I've been dying to see this charming Stars Hollow anyhow. When is it again?"

"When is what?" Colin asked as the three boys rejoined the table.

"We're going with Rory to the Stars Hollow Winter Carnival."

"Ooh, a carnival," Finn said excitedly. "Will there be cotton candy. I just love cotton candy."

"And skeeball? Because I have to tell you, Ace, I am a skeeball wiz," Logan added.

"And a ferris wheel?" Colin asked, winking at Stephanie as he did so. "I've always wanted to make out on a ferris wheel."

"Sorry guys, I don't think Stars Hollow High can afford a ferris wheel or a skeeball machine but there will be cotton candy and funnel cake and a cheesy fortune teller.

Logan smiled. "Well, as long as there will be someone there who can see my future inside a big, glass ball."

* * *

"Boy, it's pretty out tonight, isn't it?" Rory commented as she walked down the street, her arm strung through Jess's 

"Sure is."

"Like a snow globe."

"Mmhmm." He knew what she was trying to do.

"Sparkly. I mean, I don't think a night comes any prettier than this one. And if you take a really pretty night and add a corndog…"

"I'm not going to that carnival with you," he told her yet again.

"Why not?"

"I will be in front of Miss Patty's at nine as promised."

"Oh no, I can't meet you later," she told him matter-of-factly.

"What? Why not. We had plans."

"I told you, my friend's are meeting me."

"What friends?"

"My friends. The ones from Yale that I met at Thanksgiving," she reminded him.

"Wait, you mean 'business dinner' guy and his pals?"

"Logan," she told him pointedly. "Logan and Colin and Finn and Stephanie."

"I didn't know you were hanging out with them." Three rich, entitled college guys and only one other girl? He didn't like this one bit.

"Yes you did. I hang out with them every Friday and I know I've told you this before." Lately it was feeling like he never listened to a word she said. Jess didn't have a chance to respond as they were promptly interrupted.

"Rory!" She turned to the sound of the high pitched call just in time to see Dean's little sister, Clara running towards her.

"Clara, hi!" she greeted the girl with a warm hug.

"I haven't seen you in forever."

"Longer than forever," Rory agreed. Jess watched on with a scowl as Dean joined the group. Great, first the Yale dick was going to make an appearance, now Dean showed up. Was every guy under the sun trying to get in his girlfriend's pants?

"She got away from me," Dean apologized for the interruption.

"Buy a stronger leash," Jess mumbled.

"Hey, uh, did you see they got the crazy psychic from Woodbury again?" Dean commented, trying to ignore Jess.

"You're kidding. I thought she got arrested."

"She's out now and sitting right over there." Dean pointed to the square and the crazy psychic's booth.

"I love her. She always tells me I'm gonna be rich and famous," Rory said happily

"She tells everybody that they're gonna be rich and famous," Dean reminded her.

Clara eyed Jess curiously. "Who are you?"

"No one."

"Yes, you are," she laughed; he had to be someone.

"No, I'm not," Jess brushed her off again.

Rory rolled her eyes. "That's Jess. Jess, this is Clara."

"Are you guys going to the carnival?"

"I'm going, Jess isn't," Rory explained.

"Why not?"

"He has things to do."

Clara looked from Rory to her brother. "Then you can go with me and Dean, right?" she asked excitedly.

"Oh, well…" Rory began, trying to figure out the best way to answer, but she never got the chance.

"I'm going," Jess butted in. The Yale guy was bad enough, at least there was a group of them, but there was no way he was letting Rory go to this thing with Dean.

"What?"

"To the carnival. I'm going to the carnival," he clarified.

Clara gave him a strange look. "I thought you had things to do."

"Well, I don't."

"Rory just said you had things to do."

This kid was really starting to work on his nerves. "Hey Tatu, just look at the plane, will ya?" he snapped.

"What?"

"Jess," Rory interrupted. "You don't have to go. I'll just see you tomorrow." If she thought this was uncomfortable an entire night of them together would be unbearable.

"What? No. Come on, how many chances does a guy have to go to a Stars Hollow High winter carnival, right?" he insisted.

"Right," Clara agreed.

"Okay, then. Let's go."

Clara grabbed onto Dean's hand, pulling him away. "To the carnival!" she sang out gleefully.

"To the carnival," Jess mumbled with much less enthusiasm.

Rory sighed as she and Jess followed after Clara and Dean. This was going to be bad, she could tell; way too many incompatible people in one place. She really hoped things wouldn't get out of hand.

* * *

"So, I'm sorry, but did I just see you with Jess and Dean, or do I need a new prescription?" Lane asked. Dean had gone to get snow cones for Rory and Clara and Rory took the opportunity to go say hello to her best friend. 

"You're prescription's fine," Rory admitted ruefully.

"Love!" someone's voice rang out through the crowd.

"And the fun just keeps on coming," Rory remarked as she turned around to find Finn.

"Who's that?" Lane asked, pointing to the tall Australian.

"That would be Finn." Rory had told Lane all about her new friends.

"Ahh, and Logan?" Lane asked.

"The blond," Rory pointed him out.

"Cute." The Asian girl nodded in approval.

"Yeah, when Jess meets him, I don't think 'cute' is going to be his best selling point considering I had that dinner thing with him."

"Yeah but that was months ago. You guys are just friends now, not that there was ever anything more on your end."

"I don't really think Jess is going to care."

"Probably not."

"I should get over there before there's a more exciting end to the evening. Between running into Dean and Jess finding out I invited them…this could be a very eventful night. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Forget nothing," Lane instructed. She wanted full details.

"I promise." Rory walked off towards the Yalies.

"Hey Ace," Logan greeted her.

"Hi guys," she waved at them.

"So, this is Stars Hollow," Steph said, looking around her. "Cute."

"Yeah, well it's home."

"Here you are," Dean said, walking up to the group. "They only had cherry," he handed Rory a snow cone.

"Cherry's good," she assured him.

"I'm gonna go get this to Clara," he said of the other snow cone, giving the group a once over before walking away without addressing them.

"Was that Jess?" Logan asked, eyeing the snow cone barer suspiciously as he walked away.

"Dean."

"As in ex-boyfriend Dean?" Steph asked.

"That would be the one. And we should…follow him," Rory suggested, knowing that Clara was still with Jess and not wanting to leave him and Dean on their own.

"Umm, OK," Colin remarked as Rory hurried away.

They caught up just as Dean was handing Clara her snow cone. "So, play any of the games yet?" Dean asked his sister.

"Nope, I've been watching him lose," she pointed to Jess. "You don't get a bear but it's still pretty fun." She turned her attention to the newcomers. "Who are you?"

Finn bent down so he was at Clara's level. "Well, beautiful," he greeted her. "_I_ am Finnegan Morgan, and these…" he motioned behind him, "are my dear friends Logan, Colin and Stephanie. And who might you be?"

"I'm Clara. You have a fun accent, where are you from?"

"I'm from Australia."

"Are your friends from Australia too?"

"Oh no, they're from right here in Connecticut."

"Where'd you meet?"

"Hey, Clara, how about I go beat you at ice bowling," Dean interjected, giving the group an apologetic look.

"You can't beat me."

"Oh I think I can."

"Let's go." Clara marched off towards the ice bowling booth with Dean in tow.

"She's cute," Finn commented after they'd let.

"Oh yeah, adorable," Jess muttered.

"Who are you?" Logan asked, looking at Jess through narrowed eyes. That girl couldn't have been more than eleven, and this guy was acting like a complete ass.

"Who am I? Who the hell are you?" Jess asked, looking Logan and the others up and down.

Rory sighed, exasperatedly. This definitely wasn't going well. "Guys, this is Jess. Jess, this is Colin, Finn, Logan and Stephanie," she introduced.

"Oh, so _you're_ Jess. I thought you were too high and mighty for stupid town events." Stephanie remarked snidely.

"Well, I thought if a princess like you could lower yourself enough to grace Stars Hollow with your presence that I could surely make an appearance—just this once."

"Hey man," Colin stepped between Jess and Steph. "Watch who you're talking too."

"Oh yeah, I'm scared. That sweater vest is a real threatening look."

"Jess!" Rory scolded.

"You actually hang out with these people, Rory? We used to make fun of guys like these." He looked disapprovingly and Logan, Colin and Finn.

"Well, we were wrong. These are my friends and the least you can do is treat them with a little respect."

"Whatever." Jess paused and looked at the group. He needed to get out of there and cool down. "I'm going to the bathroom." He turned and stormed off.

Steph looked at the boys, an unspoken conversation clearly taking place. "Rory, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Rory let Steph lead her away from the others. "Look, Steph, I'm really sorry for the way he spoke to you. He was totally out of line."

"Yeah, he was, but this isn't about me. He was completely out of line with you. If he had any respect for you at all he would have been polite to us just for your sake. He made that snarky comment about that adorable little girl, he was completely inconsiderate towards you and your feelings. He was an ass Rory. Why do you put up with that from him?"

"He was just in his defensive mode. He's not really open to new people. I know he can seem like an ass but he's really not all that bad."

"'Not all that bad?' Are you hearing yourself? You're going to settle for 'not all that bad?' You can do so much better, Rory."

"I'll talk to him. He'll be better, I swear. Just try and put up with him for tonight, for my sake."

Steph sighed. What the hell did Rory see in this guy? "Yeah, fine."

"Thanks, Steph." The two girls made their way back to the others.

"Where'd Logan go?" she asked noticing that he was not with Colin and Finn.

Colin shot Finn a look before turning back to Rory. "Oh he uh…he went to get cotton candy."

* * *

"Need some help with the big words?" Jess asked, standing in the doorway of Stars Hollow high. Dean was in the hallway reading a poster. 

"Sure. Why don't you come over here and I'll show you which one's giving me a hard time," Dean replied menacingly.

Jess chuckled. "You're getting a little pathetic man"

"Thanks for the heads up."

"You give her the 'let's be friends' speech?"

Dean shrugged. "It's a small town, just figured it'd be nice to keep things friendly."

"You don't think I know what you're doing? You don't think it's so pathetically transparent?"

"Get out of here, Jess," Dean warned.

Jess began approaching Dean menacingly. "Rory's taking pity on you. That's why the sudden interest in being your friend. You know that?"

"Whatever you say."

"The saddest part of this whole thing is. . ."

Dean cut the other man off. "Man, you like hearing yourself talk."

"You really think that by being her friend, you're gonna get her back," Jess finished his thought.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"No, huh?" Jess replied sarcastically.

"Rory and I are just friends, just like you and Rory were just friends. And hey," Dean chuckled. "Look how it turned out for you."

"Okay, I'm ready for popcorn." Dean turned to see Clara walking out of the bathroom.

"You got it." He smiled at her.

"Bye Jess," Clara said as she and Dean walked out of the school. "You think Rory wants some popcorn?" she asked her brother.

"I don't know," Dean shot a glance over his shoulder. "Let's go ask her."

Dean and Clara disappeared from view and Jess turned back towards the bathroom.

"That was quite the little show-down, there. I was almost expecting the whole twenty paces, pistols drawn, thing—of course it's not quite high noon but that's just details."

"Oh wonderful," Jess muttered, turning around to come face to face with Logan. "I suppose it's a complete coincidence meeting you here."

"Actually, I followed you," Logan admitted.

"How very stalkerish of you."

"Just call me Blondie," he smirked nefariously.

Jess looked Logan up and down. "So uninspired."

Logan circled around Jess. "I can see what she sees in you. The whole 'chip on your shoulder,' 'the world owes you,' thing you've got going on must be a real turn on with the ladies."

"It's working for me so far; after all, I'm the one that's got the girl."

"Rory can be a little naïve sometimes but one of these days very soon, she's gonna see in you what everybody else sees, and you'll be left all alone because you were too busy hating the world to let anybody else in."

"And I suppose you'll be there to help her pick up the pieces, won't you Freud."

"I personally like to think of myself as more of a Jung, but getting back to your question—I'll be there if she needs me, but I doubt she'll spend too many nights crying over the loss of you."

"Hmm, I'm not seeing the Jung so much, I'm sticking with Freud. After all, he's all about the Oedipus complex and you're just like her asshole, playboy father. I bet you've already knocked a few up." This comment caught Logan a bit off guard. Her father? Jess knew about her father; that meant _she_ knew her father. She never spoke of him, had something bad happened there? He pushed the thought away making a mental note to look into it more later on.

"Don't mess with me Jess," he told the other man, standing threateningly close. "You don't want me as an enemy."

"Yeah, cause you're about at intimidating as your friend in the argyle."

"Oh don't worry, I don't play like that. I am the news after all, I'm sure I could find something print worthy in your past; something you would hate to have come out; something that might make certain people see you in a different light."

"So what? You want me to break up with her?"

"All I want is for you to treat her with the respect she deserves. Play nice and we won't have any problems." Logan began backing away towards the exit of the school.

"Yeah, whatever." Jess rolled his eyes.

"I've got my eye on you Jess." Logan slipped back into the shadows and disappeared.

* * *

**Just thought I'd remind you to review...in case you forgot ;)**


	9. He's You

**AN: So I had started working on the next chapter of Life as We Know it but then it started to snow and that made me happy so I decided I wanted to work on something fluffy and Life as We Know it is not exactlly full of fluffy goodness, it tends to show case my angsty writing skills. Anyway, this chapter was perfect for the mood I was in. I hope you like and thanks for all the reviews last chapter. The response was amazing :)**

* * *

"Hello?" Rory answered her cell phone, walking away from Paris in the _Franklin_ office.

"Rory, hi! Listen, I just got the call and..." Rory heard a mechanical beeping through the line. "Hold on a sec," her caller requested. "I'll call him back," she yelled to someone. "OK, I'm back. Sorry, where was I?"

"Who is this?" Rory finally managed to get in.

"Maureen Rollins—Sherry's friend," the caller said as though it were obvious—because who wouldn't remember a friend of the fiancée to the father she almost never saw.

"Oh yes…uh, right…Maureen. I...I'm sorry, I—" Rory stuttered.

"Don't worry about it. Listen, I know the invitation said we were all gathering at the C-section next week but Sherry just went into labor," she informed Rory as though she were rescheduling a business meeting and not the birth of her sister.

"What?!" Rory asked, flabbergasted.

"She screwed up, she's in labor and she wanted me to call the girls and beg them to get down to the hospital ASAP."

"Oh," Rory replied, at a loss for other words.

"It's a big screw up."

"I…I guess."

"Could you come?"

"Well…"

"You're a child, right?"

"What?"

"School?

"Huh?"

"School—you have school?" Maureen asked again impatiently.

"Yes, I…I have school."

"Is there anyway you could—reschedule school…just for today? She completely screwed up but she's still our Sherry."

"Well, I'm actually done with school now, I could grab a train and—"

"That would be the best, the absolute best," Maureen cut her off. "You're a great kid. She's at Boston Memorial. I will meet you there." There was another beep on the line. "Listen, I have Graydon Carter on the other line."

"Who?"

"Graydon Carter. I have to go."

* * *

"OK, bye," Rory said meekly, hanging up her cell phone. She stood there for a moment, trying to register the conversation she'd just had. Sherry was in labor. _Crap!_ Sherry was in labor. She had to get to Boston, she was about to have a sister.

"Hey Ace! Ready to go?" Logan asked as Rory came walking out of Chilton and through the parking lot where he had been waiting for her.

She ignored him and kept walking out towards the street, looking left and right._ Crap! _Which bus took her to the train station?

"Ace, wait." He called again, running after her.

"What? Oh, Logan, I didn't see you," she said distractedly.

"I think I'm insulted," he chuckled. "My car's back this way," he continued, reaching an arm out to guide Rory back to his Porsche.

"No, Logan. I can't go to The Pub with you guys today. I have to find a train or a bus or something," she told him impatiently.

"A train? Ace, what are you talking about?"

"Boston—I have to get to Boston."

"What? Ace, you're not making any sense. What's in Boston?"

"My sister."

"You have _sister?_" How the hell did he not know she had a sister? A sister who was, apparently, in Boston.

She turned to look at him like he was crazy. "Not yet."

"OK, now you're confusing me."

"I just…I have to get to Boston Memorial Hospital…"

Logan had no clue what was going on but he sure as hell wasn't going to let her get on a bus or a train to Boston by herself, especially not in the state she was in. Someone was in the hospital? It could be serious. She shouldn't be alone. "Come on," he put his hand to her back and started leading her back towards the car. He opened the door for her and she got in wordlessly.

Logan walked around and got into the driver's seat. "Now, you want to tell me again why we're going to Boston?"

"What?" she asked, snapping out of her daze. "Logan, no. Just drop me off at the train station. I'll be fine."

"Ace, you're not getting on a train by yourself; you're a mess."

"Logan, you are not driving me all the way to Boston," she insisted. That was way too much to ask of him; it was almost a two hour drive, especially at this time of day.

"Well you're in my car, all buckled up, nice and cozy, and I'm pulling out of the parking lot as we speak, headed for Boston—so unless you have plans to jump out of a moving vehicle today, looks like I _am_ driving you to Boston."

"Logan…" she tried to protest yet again.

"Don't argue with me."

She sighed. "Fine," she relented. She knew arguing with him was futile.

"So, now that that's settled, let's try this again. Why are we going to Boston? Someone's in the hospital?" he asked soothingly. He hoped everything was alright—the hospital was rarely a good destination.

"Sherry."

"And Sherry's your…sister?"

"Uh uh." She shook her head. "Dad's fiancée."

He nearly swerved off the road. Her father? After Jess's little comment at the carnival he had looked into it some more but he had still been unable to find out her Dad's identity. He didn't know why he was so interested, maybe it was his own crappy relationship with his father, or maybe it was just sheer curiosity, or maybe he was just interested in her life…you know, because she was his friend. Whatever the reason, he had wanted to find out who he was and what relationship he had with Rory—and now, after all the unanswered questions Logan had about him, they were on their way to see the birth of his second daughter. Or at least that's what he was gathering from the information Rory was providing.

Trying to sound nonchalant, he asked, "So your Dad's about to become a dad again?"

"Yep."

"So you're gonna be a big sister?"

"That is how it generally works."

"Are you excited?"

A smile slowly formed on her face. "Yeah, I think I am."

"So, you think you'll see your new sister a lot?"

"Huh?"

"Well, I'm guessing they live in Boston, and I don't think you've ever mentioned your Dad before so I'm guessing you don't see much of him," he gently pried.

Logan watched out of the corner of his eye and saw that Rory's smile faded and her brow furrowed. She bit down on her lip and shook her head. "Dad's not around much. He kind of just flits in and out of our lives. I mean, he was only 16 when I was born and he didn't handle it as well as Mom. I know he loves me, but that responsible Dad thing never really caught on. He wants to do it right this time, it's just…"

Logan turned his head just briefly to look at her before bringing his eyes back to the road in front of them.

"…Just that you wish he'd do it right with you?"

"I know; it's silly. I'm 18; I'm all grown up and I did it without him, I don't need him but, it'd still be nice, ya know?"

"Yeah," he nodded his head. He did know. His Dad wasn't around much either. Sure, he wasn't the typical definition of an absentee father but Logan still knew what it was like to wish his Dad were there; to wonder why he couldn't be bothered to spend Christmas with them or wish that he would show up to his little league game, just once. He didn't need his father's love and approval but that didn't stop him from wanting it.

"And for this brief moment in time, last spring," Rory continued, "I actually thought it was going to happen. Mom and Dad were getting back together—that is until Sherry called and told him she was pregnant."

"And he went back to her?"

"Well he missed it all with me and he didn't want to miss it again. Can you blame him?"

Logan gave her a brief, pointed glare. If he wasn't mistaken he detected a hint of bitterness…and from what he was hearing, it was completely justifiable. "You feel like he chose the new baby over you."

"What?"

"Rory, he's your father; you have every right to wish he'd act like it. It's completely understandable if you're a little jealous that your sister is going to get the father you never had."

"No, Logan, it's not like that. Well maybe I am a little upset that he chose them over us, but I definitely don't blame Gigi. It's not her fault. It's not her fault she exists. I know what it's like to have people blame you for things just because you were born. She didn't take Dad away from me and she has every right to a good father. He should be there for her; it's right," she insisted adamantly. She never once thought of being jealous or resentful of Gigi. She would never blame her for any of this—Sherry, yes; her Dad, definitely, but Gigi was just an innocent bystander.

_I know what it's like to have people blame you for things just because you were born._ What did she mean by that? There were people who resented her existence? _Her_? He knew she hadn't been wanted initially, who would want a 16 year old to get pregnant? But she wasn't to blame for any of that. And she had a great relationship with her Mom; she was Richard and Emily's pride and joy and it sounded like her Dad loved her, even if he had never been able to be the father she needed. "What are you talking about; who blames you?"

"Nothing, forget about it." She shook her head.

"Rory," he said, taking his right hand off the wheel and placing it on her knee, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "You can talk to me. You know that, right?"

She worried her lip thoughtfully and shook her head. She could trust him, she wasn't sure why, but she felt like she could talk to him. "It's just…I met my Straub and Francine for the first and only time when I was 16."

_Straub and Francine? As in Hayden? As in State Supreme Court Justice Straub Hayden? What did they have to do with anything?_

"Well, at least that I can remember; I think they saw me a few times when I was a baby. I didn't even know what to call them. Did I call them Straub and Francine? Mr. and Mrs. Hayden? Grandma and Grandpa?

_What?! _"The Hayden's are you grandparents?" He couldn't help himself from asking.

"Yeah," she replied as though it was common knowledge and she probably thought it was. How could no one in Hartford society have known that her father was Christopher Hayden? And then there was the fact that Straub had been appointed to the Connecticut State Supreme Court just over a year ago; one would think something like an illegitimate granddaughter would have come out, especially if Christopher openly acknowledged his daughter. Logan knew that Christopher was not on good terms with his parents and if his relationship with Rory was as sporadic as it seemed, he supposed it was possible, but only if Straub had gone out of his way to cover it up. The Haydens were good friends with his parents and he had met them a few times; he had thought that they were respectable people but if this was true…He didn't understand, sure the circumstances around Rory's birth weren't ideal but she had turned into everything a grandparent could be proud of; how could they dismiss her so easily?

"OK, so what happened?" he asked, trying to keep his cool.

"We were all at Grandma and Grandpas for dinner—me, Mom, Dad and Straub and Francine. Things started to get heated and then Mom told me to leave. I went into the other room but I could still hear them fighting. I think Straub's exact words were 'she had that baby and ended his future.'"

Logan took a couple of deep breaths to try and keep from exploding with anger. How could someone say something like that about a baby—about their own grandchild? Even his own father had never been so cruel; he'd often told Logan what a disappointment he was, how he wasn't living up to his potential, that he was a screw up but he had _never_ insinuated that he wished he'd never been born.

Once Logan had composed himself he gave Rory's knee another gentle squeeze. "You know it's not true, right? Your father made his own choices in life; you're not responsible for his mistakes."

"Yeah, I know." She nodded her head.

Logan wasn't convinced. "Rory—"

"I know, Logan, really. It's just…it doesn't really stop it from hurting," she admitted.

"I get that," he said, flashing her a reassuring smile.

The car went silent for a few minutes. Logan concentrated on the road in front of him and Rory rested her head against the seat, her eyes closed in thought.

"Thanks for doing this for me, Logan," she said after a while.

"Hey, no problem. Any excuse to spend more time with my favorite Gilmore."

"It's just so far out of your way and it's a Friday, you probably have much better things to be doing."

"I'm good just where I am," he insisted.

"So, no dates?" she asked. She wasn't jealous—just curious, she told herself.

"I'm already with the best girl in all of Connecticut."

She laughed. "You know, it's not necessary to suck up to people who are already your friends—especially when you're in the process of doing them an enormous favor."

"What can I say? Smooth talking just comes naturally to a Huntzberger."

"You keep telling yourself that," she replied, patting him placatingly on the shoulder.

"I sense that that statement was lacking in sincerity."

"What can I say?" she shrugged. "Sarcasm just comes naturally to a Gilmore."

"So I see…So, speaking of dates—how are things with you and Jess?" Oh yeah, that was a smooth transition.

She turned her head against the head rest and looked at him. "Things are good."

"You're sure? Because if he's not treating you right I can…"

Rory cut him off. "Logan," she said sternly. "Things are good. I know he didn't make the best impression on you guys at the Carnival but he's not a bad guy." The truth was, she had given him the silent treatment for a couple of days after the Carnival but he had apologized and explained that he had just been thrown by the appearance of Dean as well as Logan and the others. He wasn't happy that she and Dean had decided to be friends and he still insisted that Logan was interested in her in a more than platonic way; but she had promised him that he had nothing to worry about and he agreed to try and accept these people as a part of her life.

"Well if that's true, then I'm glad," he said, trying to muster up as much sincerity as he could. He wasn't glad; no matter what she said, he knew Jess wasn't good enough for her. He didn't want to have to follow through with the threat he'd made that night but he had a strong suspicion that if Rory didn't come to her senses soon, she was going to wind up hurt and Logan wouldn't hesitate to put the guy who hurt her in his place. He had no tolerance for people hurting those whom he cared about.

"It is."

"Well good."

Awkward silence filled the car and followed them to Boston.

* * *

Rory spotted the slightly familiar face of Maureen—she had met her only once, at Sherry's baby shower—and approached her. "Maureen?"

"Yes?" the woman responded, turning around to face her.

"I'm Rory," she reintroduced herself. Maureen looked at her, trying to figure out who this 'Rory' was. "I'm Christopher's daughter. You called me to come down."

"Rory, yes!" she responded enthusiastically. "Sweetie, thank _God_ you're here. Sherry's going to be so happy to see you; she's a basket case. Well who wouldn't be, right?"

"Where's everyone else?" Rory asked, not noticing any other faces that had been at the baby shower.

"Oh they're working," Maureen said, matter-of-factly.

"What?!" Rory asked, in a panic. She didn't want to be there alone; she hated hospitals, and ever since watching _The Miracle of Birth_ in junior high, the whole thought of someone being in labor freaked her out.

"Well we had all planned on next week, but Sherry screwed up so what can you do? Thank god you're here, she'll be thrilled. She's feeling a little abandoned. Now, she's right in there. Do not mention how fat she is; for some reason she's extremely sensitive about that today. OK kiss." Maureen leaned in a few inches from Rory's face and gave her a mock kiss on the cheek. "I'll call you later to see how every thing's going." She started gathering up her coat and bag.

"Wait, where are you going?" Rory's panic was growing. Now she was _really_ going to be alone with Sherry.

"I've got to get back to work, I'm swamped today."

"You're leaving me here alone?"

"Believe me, I would love to stay, hun. Impossible! What can I say? Sherry screwed up. Anyhow, you'll be fine. If you need anything call."

"I don't have your number," Rory whimpered as she watched Maureen run off down the hall.

"Sherry's got it," Maureen called back, not even pausing as she raced out of the hospital.

Rory just stood there, jaw hanging open. "Breathe," she heard a voice command her from behind.

Rory turned around to face Logan. "Logan? What are you still doing here? I thought you left?"

"Left? And went where?" he asked, smiling at her. She was cute when she was freaking out. Not cute in a sexy way…purely platonically cute.

"Umm, back to school?"

"And just desert you in Boston? I don't think so, Ace."

"But you can't stay here. This could take all night, maybe longer."

"I've got nowhere to be. Besides, if I leave, who will be here to get you the paper bag when you start hyperventilating?" he chuckled.

"Logan, you really don't have to do this."

"Just go in and see Sherry. I'm going to go get you some coffee."

Rory sighed. "Have I told you 'thank you' recently?"

"I think you may have mentioned it."

"Well I'm going to mention it again—thank you. I don't know what I'd do if I were alone right now."

"Not that it matters, because you're not alone, but even if you were—you'd be fine. A little freaked out, but fine. Now I think someone in that room over there is also freaking out right about now," he nodded his head towards Sherry's room. "Why don't you go check on her and see how that little sister of yours in coming along."

"Thank you."

"It's getting old, Gilmore. Now go." She smiled at him, took a deep breath and entered Sherry's room.

* * *

"OK, so how are we doing?" the nurse asked as she entered the room. Rory looked up from the cell phone in her hands; she had been making some business calls for Sherry who apparently couldn't stop working for even the most extreme of circumstances.

Sherry sighed and shook her head. "I'm not sure."

"Well don't be nervous, everything's going to be just fine. I just wanted to check on you and to see who's going to be with you in the delivery room while it's happening."

"Oh, well my fiancé's on his way—he's on his way, right?" Sherry asked, turning to Rory in a panic.

"Yes, he's on his way," Rory confirmed.

This seemed to appease Sherry momentarily. "OK, so when he gets here he'll come in with me."

"And if he doesn't get here on time?"

"Well then we'll just have to wait," she said matter-of-factly.

"I'm afraid that's going to be a little tough to arrange. Once it starts, that's it."

Sherry's eyes went wide again. "OK," she said hesitantly. "Well then, I guess it's Rory…right?"

Rory's head shot up. Her? In the delivery room? Umm…no! "Oh…absolutely."

"OK, well then I'm going to get you a gown and some gloves so you'll be all set in case you have to go in," the nurse replied.

"That sounds great," she replied mechanically.

"I'll be right back," the nurse left the room.

"OK, where were we?" Sherry asked, referring to the business calls they had been making.

"Umm, listen, Sherry," Rory said, standing up. "I really need a cup of coffee. Would you mind if I ran out really quick?"

"Oh, no. Go ahead; I'll make the next few calls myself."

"OK." Rory hastily made her way out of the room and bumped right into Logan.

"Hey, Ace. How's it going in there?"

"She wants me to go in the delivery room with her," Rory yelped.

"What?"

"If Dad doesn't get here in time. She told the nurse I was going to go in with her. I don't want to see that! I can barely watch ER with out getting sick to my stomach," she ranted.

"OK, calm down," he said, grabbing her hands which were gesticulating wildly.

"Calm down? Logan did you not just hear what I said? She wants me to go in the delivery room with her."

"We'll figure this out, Ace," he assured her. "Hmm…well I'd offer to go in for you but I don't think Sherry would be too comfortable with that, seeing as she's never met me."

Rory looked up at him. "I don't think Dad would be a fan either."

"Right," he nodded his head. "Where is your Dad right now?"

"I don't know."

"Well do you know how long before he gets here?"

"I don't know."

"Well how far along is she? It could still be a while, right?"

"I don't know. I don't know, I don't know, I don't know," she whimpered, burying her face in his chest. He rubbed soothing circles on her back. "I need my mommy," she mumbled into him. She took a deep breath and pulled out of his grasp, reaching for her cell phone.

"Hello?" Rory heard her mother's voice on the other end of the line.

"Mom, they're giving me gloves," she whined.

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't want gloves, I don't want a gown, I don't want to be in there."

"In where?"

"In the delivery room with Sherry," she clarified.

"What?"

"Dad's not here yet and she's freaking out and she told the nurse _I'm_ going in."

"Where are her other friends," Lorelai asked incredulously.

"They had to work. I'm here all by myself. Well, I mean Logan's here but while his presence is highly appreciated, he's not much of a help in this particular situation and I'm trying very hard to be calm but I'm feeling nauseous and the hospital has a smell and there are noises and those gowns do not stay closed and I've seen a _lot_ of butts today and…" Rory's rant was cut off by Lorelai.

"Ok sweetie, calm down."

"I need you."

"Rory—"

"I need you, I need you here, I need you now. I cannot do this. I need my Mommy and damn it, I don't care who knows it."

"What hospital is it?" Lorelai asked, without another word.

"Boston Memorial"

"I'll be right there."

"I really, really like you."

"Tell Sherry to keep her legs crossed until I get there."

"Does that work?" Rory asked incredulously.

"No," Lorelai admitted. "Bye."

Rory closed her phone and breathed a sigh of relief.

"She's on her way," she told Logan.

"You'll be fine," he promised her, pulling her in for another hug. "Everything's going to be fine."

* * *

Lorelai sat in the waiting room of Boston Memorial Hospital. She had gotten there from Hartford in record time, much to Rory's relief. Logan had been a huge help in keeping her from having a nervous breakdown in the mean time but she had still been extremely reassured by her mother's presence—and the knowledge that she wouldn't have to go into the delivery room.

Lorelai hated that it had been Logan who was there for Rory, although she was grateful her daughter had somebody and she had to admit, Logan had been a big help. To tell the truth, she was surprised that Logan had gone to so much effort to be there for Rory and the thought helped ease her reservations she had of him and his friends a bit, though she was still uncomfortable with the fact that her daughter seemed to be growing so close to them. Honestly, Lorelai wasn't sure what she felt anymore.

"Lor…" she heard a whisper and turned to see Christopher leaning on the couch by her side. He had made it just in time to go into the delivery room with Sherry.

Lorelai put her magazine aside. "Are you a daddy?" she asked him.

He nodded his head enthusiastically. "Come on, come look, we'll wake Rory later." He turned to his sleeping daughter and for the first time noticed the boy whose lap her head was on. He was sleeping too, his head lulled to one side and his hand resting on her waist. "Should I be worried about that?" he asked Lorelai, gesturing to the slumbering pair.

Lorelai turned to Rory and Logan and let out a sigh. "I don't know; I'm still trying to figure it out myself."

"Is he her…boyfriend?" he asked cautiously.

Lorelai pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Not yet."

"Huh?" he asked, not quite sure what she meant.

"They're just friends right now. She's with someone else—Jess," she admitted.

"Jess?" That name sounded familiar to him…and then he placed it. "The guy from the car accident?" he asked, referring to the incident about a year earlier when Jess had taken her to get ice cream and gotten them into an accident. Rory had broken her arm and Jess had disappeared. It had not gone over well with Chris or Lorelai, or Jess's uncle, Luke, for that matter. As soon as Jess had made it back to Luke's, Luke had sent him packing. Eventually Jess returned to Stars Hollow and Luke agreed to take him in again, all seemed forgotten—but Christopher hadn't forgotten; he still hated that kid.

"That would be the one," Lorelai confirmed.

"You're letting her _date_ him?" Chris asked incredulously.

"I'm not _letting_ her anything. She's a big girl and she can make her own decisions, whether I agree with them or not. Believe me, it sucks, but it's what happens when they grow up. You'll see."

Christopher sighed, "I don't like this."

"Me either. But if it makes you feel any better, I don't think it's going to last much longer. She's got it bad for that one," Lorelai nodded her head towards Logan. "She just hasn't figured it out yet."

"So how do we feel about that one?" Chris asked, referring to the blond boy with his daughter.

"Logan? Well…I want to hate him," Lorelai admitted.

"Why?"

She looked at Logan, then back at Chris. "Well…he's you."

"He's me?"

Lorelai nodded her head.

"Does that mean you hate me?"

"No," she replied. "It means I want to hate you."

"But you don't?" he asked cautiously.

"No."

"And you don't hate this Logan guy either?"

Lorelai glanced at Logan again. "No, I guess I don't."

"Why?"

"Why don't I hate him?" she asked for clarification.

"Yeah, why don't you hate him?"

Lorelai sighed. "He's…you."

Christopher nodded in understanding. "Come on," he said. "Let's go see Gigi."

Lorelai stole one more glimpse at her own daughter before following after Christopher. She really hoped he'd get it right the second time around.

* * *

**Look at that, a nice long chapter. I know you guys are anxious to get to the Jess/Rory break up and I SWEAR it's coming soon. Just a couple more chapters unless the next chapter turns out real long and I wind up breaking it into 2. ANd just think that's positively short compared to the 24 chapters it took in Skip a Beat.**

**Please reveiw. Pretty please with a cherry on top.**


	10. I Don’t Suppose You Were the Deep Throat

**AN: Yay, another chapter, aren't you guys excited? I think you're going to like this one, plus it's nice and long. I don't know what's up with me and my long chapters lately but I hope for your sake I keep it up. Guess I just must have a lot to say. Thank all of you guys for your awsome response to all of my stories. I love you all fro reading, especially those of you who leave reviews. Thanks guys.**

* * *

Rory stood in the doorway of her grandparent's house. It was their usual Friday night dinner only Lorelai was out of town and Jess had attended as per Emily's request. The evening had started off bad when Jess was late and gone down hill from there. He had shown up with a black eye and refused to tell Rory where it was from—though Rory had a pretty good idea it had something to do with Dean. Jess hadn't been happy when he found out that Rory and Dean had both been at Miss Patty's for the dress rehearsal of her one woman show. When Jess continued to evade her questions about his eye, Rory pulled him aside and accused him of starting a fight with Dean. Jess had gotten defensive but refused to deny the claim. The argument that had ensued had been awful and had ended with Jess walking out without so much as a good bye. 

So now, Rory was waiting for a cab to take her home, since Jess had been her designated ride. Rory had considered staying the night at Emily's, a suggestion that Lorelai had made even before the fight had occurred, but Rory was feeling more than a little humiliated and wasn't in the mood to stay there. How she had managed to convince Emily that a cab was an acceptable form of transportation, especially for a young girl at night, was beyond Rory, but somehow she had.

"The taxi's here Grandma," Rory alerted Emily as she watched the headlights pull up in front of the gate.

"OK," Emily, acknowledged, joining her granddaughter in the foyer. "Here's some money for the fare."

"Oh, that's not necessary, Grandma, really." Rory protested.

"Nonsense. Now, be careful and remember to call me when you get home. Maybe I should go outside and meet with the driver…"

"I'll be fine, I promise," Rory reassured her.

Emily looked a little uneasy, but gave in. "Alright, if you insist. Bye dear."

Rory gave her grandmother a peck on the cheek, said her goodbyes and left. She climbed into the car and the cabbie turned around. "Where to, lady?" he inquired.

Rory thought for a moment. She had told Emily that she just wanted to go home but the truth was, Lorelai wouldn't be there and Rory didn't really feel like being alone. It was too late to go to Lane's, since Mrs. Kim had a strict, "no calls of visitors after 9PM" rule, and she couldn't go to any of her Chilton friends because they were not currently on very good terms due to a student government snafu that had left Paris feeling betrayed. Rory sighed before give the driver her answer, "Yale," she told him. "Berkley Hall."

The taxi driver nodded and drove off.

* * *

Logan was getting ready for his date that evening and just as he was sliding the gel through his hair, he heard a knock at the door. He wasn't sure who it could be since Colin, Stephanie and Finn were all at the Pub, having no dates of their own for the evening. He finished massaging the hair product into his scalp and made his way to the door. 

"Hi," Rory said meekly as he opened the door. Logan took in her appearance and was instantly worried. Her eyes were bloodshot, her arms were crossed insecurely over her chest, and she kept her gaze firmly on the floor by her feet.

"Ace?"

She bit her lip nervously. "Can I…" she motioned to the inside of the dorm room.

"Oh yeah, of course," he replied, feeling like an idiot for not inviting her in in the first place. He led her into the room and sat her down on the sofa.

"What's going on, Rory? Everything was fine this afternoon before I dropped you off at Richard and Emily's."

"I just um…had a really bad night and Mom isn't home and I didn't want to be alone…and I shouldn't have come here. It's Friday night, you probably have plans. I'll just go," Rory motioned to stand up but Logan pulled her gently back down to the couch.

"How did you get here?" he asked.

"I took a cab. I was just gonna go home but…"

"You didn't want to be alone," he finished for her.

"And then I thought about Lane but it's too late, her mom is really strict. And then I thought maybe Paris or someone from Chilton but there was this whole big political scandal at school, very Watergate, and now Paris isn't talking to me."

"Watergate, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah," she smiled a little.

"I don't suppose you were the Deep Throat," he teased.

"Logan!" she gasped, turning bright red at the innuendo.

"You can stay here, Ace. Don't worry about it," he said, moving back on topic.

"But it's Friday night, you must have a date. And you gave up another Friday night to help me out with the whole Gigi thing, I can't ask you to cancel your plans again."

"I was just going to the Pub to meet the gang," he lied. "I spend more than enough time there as it is. We can stay here and watch a movie or something, or if you're up to it we can go meet them," he suggested.

"Are you sure? Because I can just call another cab and…"

Logan cut her off. "Rory," he said sternly.

"Right, umm…let's go to the Pub. I don't want to sit around and sulk anyhow and this way you don't have to cancel your plans."

"You're sure? It's a lot less low key at night than it is in the afternoon, but it's still fun. If you'd rather stay here though..." He didn't want her going just because she felt bad about barging in on him. He really didn't mind staying in with her. That wasn't weird, was it? He wasn't exactly the 'stay in kind' of guy but with her…it didn't sound so bad.

"No." She shook her head adamantly. "I don't want to stay in." She wanted to go out and forget all about her stupid fight with Jess. She wanted to forget his jealousy and his rudeness and how embarrassed she was at how he spoke to her and her grandmother. She wanted to forget about him.

"OK, let me just go call the others, let them know we'll be there soon," he replied, standing up. Really he had to go call Cindy…or was it Mindy? Candi? Oh well, what's 'er name would get over it.

Ten minutes later they found themselves walking across campus, making their way to the Pub. "So, are you going to tell me what happened?" Logan finally asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"It's just…the whole 'meet the grandparents' thing didn't go so well."

Of course, Logan had forgotten all about that. He should have known her bad mood had to do with Jess. He tried to contain the anger he was feeling. "What'd he do?"

"Well, it started with him being late. Grandma was surprisingly good about it, but I wasn't quite so happy."

"Uh huh…" he prodded her on.

"Well when he finally showed up, I opened the door and there he was with this huge black eye."

"A black eye?" he asked. Just great, not only was the guy a jerk, he had violent tendencies too. If Logan ever found out he so much as laid a finger on Rory…

"Yeah, and he refused to tell me how he got it, though I'm pretty sure I know…He got really upset when he found out that I had been at this thing with Dean, even though it was completely innocent. I told him as much but…"

"You think he started something with Dean?"

Rory nodded her head in answer.

"Has he…gotten into a lot of fights before?" he asked, trying to tread lightly on the topic so as not to make her defensive or upset with him.

"Once or twice," she admitted.

Logan stopped walking and turned Rory to face him. "He's never…" he paused, trying to find the right words to ask this.

Rory started at him for a moment, before realizing what Logan wanted to get at. "What? Logan, no. Jess would never hurt me; that's ridiculous. What would even make you think that?"

Logan breathed a sigh of relief. "Sorry, but you're talking about him getting in fights and stuff…I just had to ask."

"Well you can stop asking now because he would never do anything like that."

"OK," he said, concedingly. "I'm sorry." He wasn't sorry. She was his friend and he cared about her and he had every right to be concerned, but he certainly didn't want to fight and as long as he knew she was alright, he'd let it drop.

"That's alright, but can we talk about something else now?"

He nodded his head. "Alright, Deep Throat, tell me more about this Watergate scandal."

"Logan!"

* * *

The entire group sat around a table at the Pub talking about nothing in particular. They had been there for about a half an hour and Logan decided it was time for a drink. Standing up, he looked around the table. "Anybody need anything from the bar?" 

Colin and Finn both requested a refill on their scotch. "Ace?" Logan asked.

"You know I don't drink. Besides, I'm not 21; you know they won't serve me. Come to think of it, you're not 21 either."

"Nope, I'm 22," he replied.

"What are you talking about Logan? You're 21st birthday is in May."

"Is that so?" Logan pulled out his wallet and handed her his license which did, in fact, state his age as 22.

She carefully examined it. "This looks real."

"It is real," he assured her.

"How is that possible?"

"Let's just say I know a lot of very powerful people at the DMV."

Rory just rolled her eyes at him.

"I'll take that as a 'no drink for me, thanks,'" he said, laughing.

"I'll pass."

Alright then. He went off to the bar and Rory continued chatting with the rest of her friends. He came back with three scotches a few minutes later and rejoined the discussion.

"So, Love, you never did tell us what brought you back here tonight," Finn asked after they had been talking for a while.

Rory sighed. As much fun as she was having, she still couldn't completely get her mind off the events from earlier that evening. "I got into a fight with Jess; I don't really want to talk about it." She looked around the table. This was ridiculous, she was at a bar hanging out with her friends and everyone was having more fun than her. She wanted to be having fun too; she didn't want to be sulking over her boyfriend. Acting quickly, before she could talk herself out of it, she reached her hand out and took hold of Logan's glass. Picking the glass up, she took a big swig and immediately started coughing. "Ugh, that's disgusting. What is that?"

Logan laughed at the horrified face she was making, and the scotch that had wound up all over the table instead of down her throat. "That would be scotch, Ace."

"It's awful," she replied, but went ahead and took another sip, this one much smaller. "Yep, definitely awful."

"Why don't I get you something a little more your style," Logan suggested.

"No, Logan, I'm fine," she insisted.

"Well I won't have you wasting my perfectly good drink by spitting it all over the place. Now I need a refill." Logan stood up and walked off to the bar. When he came back he placed a martini glass with a brownish liquid, in front of her.

"What is this?" she asked him.

"Coffee martini," he replied. "Thought I'd start you out with something close to your comfort zone."

She looked at the drink tentatively for a few moments; it was one thing just to try Logan's drink, but something else completely to have her own. She let her gaze trail around the Pub at all the happy people sipping at their drinks. She wasn't going to sit here and feel sorry for herself, she was going to have fun. She picked the drink up and took a sip.

"Oh my god, that's sooooo much better than that disgusting scotch."

Logan laughed. "I thought you'd like it. Just don't go getting too drunk, Missy," he instructed.

Rory rolled her eyes. "I'll try and contain myself."

* * *

"Dear lord, what is she doing?" Logan asked, several hours later from his seat at the table. 

"I think she's dancing." Stephanie replied.

"Dancing? Are you sure? Because to me it looks more like a seizure." Rory was currently on the dance floor looking very happy with Finn.

"She's just having fun," Stephanie said dismissively.

"There's fun and then there's…spastic. I don't get it; I only gave her two drinks. I know she's a light weight but how the heck did she get that drunk off two measly coffee-tinis?"

"Well…" Colin began guiltily.

Logan gave him a look. "'Well' what, Colin?"

"I might have bought her a drink too."

"_A _drink?" Logan asked skeptically.

"I swear, only one, but…."

"But…" Logan prodded.

"Well, I may have seen her doing shots with Finn before."

Logan's eyes went wide in panic. "Shots...? Colin, _shots_? With Finn? She was doing shots with Finn?"

"Umm…yes."

"Oh dear god, that is _not_ good." Logan looked at his watch. It was nearly 1:30 in the morning anyhow, and the Pub closed at 2. "I should probably get her to a nice cozy bed to pass out in."

"Might be wise," Stephanie agreed.

Logan stood up and walked out to the dance floor. "Hey, Ace. I think it's time to go."

She gave him a pouty look. "But Finn and I were dancing."

"Yes, if that's what you want to call it. Still, I think it's time we head back."

"You're going to steal my wonderful dance partner away?" Finn asked, aghast.

"Sorry, Finn. But I'm sure with your amazing skills you won't have trouble finding someone to dance with you."

"True, the ladies do tend to be quite enthralled by my spectacular moves. Bye, Love," he bid Rory adieu.

"Bye Finny!" she said happily.

Logan turned around with Rory's hand in his and came face to face with a blonde girl who looked slightly familiar…and then it hit him. "Cindy!" he said, as cheerily as he could.

"Mindy!" she reminded him snidely.

"Yes, yes, I knew that," he insisted.

"You seem to be feeling awfully chipper for someone who was so horribly ill not four hours ago," she accused.

"Well, what can I say, it musta been one of those 4 hour flu bugs," he forced a smile.

"And to think I actually fell for that stupid line, and instead I find you here with this…this…floozy" she said, pointing angrily at Rory.

"Hey!" he insisted. "Watch it."

"Go to hell, Logan Huntzberger," the girl spat at him before storming away.

"Well that went well," Logan mumbled to himself. He turned to Rory, "Come on."

Rory didn't move. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she asked angrily.

"What?"

"You were supposed to have a date with that girl tonight?"

Logan glanced at Rory, a sheepish look upon his face. "Maybe"

"You lied to me. You told me your only plans were to come here and hang out with the gang. You lied. You lied to me and you apparently lied to her…and you couldn't even remember her name; what the hell was up with that?"

"Rory, if I told you I had a date you would have insisted on leaving; you were upset and you had no where else to go. What did you want me to do?"

"No, I don't care. You should have told me the truth. You lied. What is up with guys and lying? Is it so fricking hard for guys to tell the truth once in a while? Is it like, some genetic thing, like color blindness or something that only guys get that makes it impossible for them to tell the truth? You're all alike…you, Jess, everyone. I can't trust any of you," she ranted. She pulled her hand out of his grasp and stormed off in the direction of the exit.

Logan stood there in shock for a moment until he saw her push open the door of the Pub and leave. She had no where to go in New Haven. What the hell did she think she was doing? He started to follow after her.

"Logan!" some girl squealed, stepping in front of his path. Great, just what he needed, another clingy girl to throw herself at him and fuck things up even more.

"Listen…umm…"

"Brittany."

"Right, Brittany. I can't really talk right now."

She gave him a pouty look. "You don't have time for little old me?" she asked as flirtatiously as she could. "I promise I could make it worth your while."

"That sounds really, great," he tried to refrain from rolling his eyes. "But I'll have to take a rain check. I'll call you."

"Promise?" she asked, batting her eyelashes at him.

"Uh huh," he nodded impatiently.

"Fine," she pouted.

"Bye," he said, side stepping her and making his way outside. He looked around but saw no sign of Rory.

"_Shit_!" he cursed to himself. He stood there for a moment trying to figure out what to do when he heard something around the corner. He walked around the building and found Rory on her knees, head buried in a bush, retching up the contents of her stomach.

He sighed, partially in relief, partially in worry over her current state and partially in disgust; he was never great with sick people. "Rory."

She lifted her head up to look at him, wiping at her mouth. "I don't feel so good," she mumbled.

Logan chuckled slightly. "Well that's what you get for doing shots with Finn," he playfully scolded her, reaching a hand out to help her up off the ground.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"I'm sorry I lied to you," he responded.

"You were only trying to help," she mumbled, leaning into his side for support. Somewhere in the back of her mind she marveled at how quickly she could go from being so hyper to being ready to pass out, but mostly she was too drunk to think at all.

"I know, but I shouldn't have lied. I want you to be able to trust me."

"I can," she nodded her head into his shoulder as they began the walk back to his dorm. "I shouldn't have compared you to Jess. You're not Jess. I can't trust him. I want to, but I can't." she mumbled. "You're way better than Jess. I can trust you. You're nicer and funnier and waaaay cuter."

Logan's step faltered momentarily. Had she just said what he thought she said? But, no, it was just drunken rambling, even if she had, it didn't mean anything. He continued walking, her whole body leaning against his, her arm wrapped around him for support. It didn't mean anything. She was with Jess, she wasn't developing feelings for him, and he hadn't felt that way about her since Thanksgiving, had he? Nope, he definitely hadn't…didn't. They were just friends. He accepted that. It was all they would ever be.

They walked the rest of the way to the dorm in silence and he let them in. "You can take the bedroom," he told her.

"No, Logan, your bed, you take it," she insisted sleepily.

"Ace, I'm talking the couch, and you're in no position to argue with me."

She sighed as she followed him into the bedroom. "Sit," he told her, helping her onto the bed. He walked over to the dresser and pulled out a pair of old sweat pants a t-shirt for her that was a size small on him as well as his usual sweats and t-shirt that he slept in. "You can sleep in this." He handed her the clothes. I'm going to go change in the bathroom.

He walked out of the room and went to the bathroom to change, and brush his teeth. When he finished he walked back to the bed room and knocked lightly on the door.

"Come in," came the mumbled reply.

He opened the door and immediately stopped to stare at the sight before him. Rory was sitting on the bed, tangled up in the t-shirt, her sweater still on. He bit back a laugh.

"Having some trouble there, Ace?"

"Can't get this stupid thing on," she mumbled petulantly.

"Well for starters, you have your arm in the neck hole; also, it helps to take off your other clothes first."

He watched her as she struggled to get herself out of the mess she had made. As it became more and more apparent that she was so drunk she no longer had the motor skills to get changed he realized what he had to do.

"Here, let me help you with that," he said, walking up to her. He helped her take the t-shirt off then went to reach for her sweater. She immediately crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him in shock.

"Rory, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. If it makes you feel any better, I'll keep my eyes closed." She just sighed and reluctantly uncrossed her arms. "See, now I know you're really drunk if you passed up such a prime opportunity to mock my ability to undress a girl with my eyes closed."

"No mocking, too tired."

He chuckled a little. She was cute when she was drunk. "Stand up." He instructed. She did as she was told. He threw the t-shirt over his shoulder and closed his eyes, reaching for the hem of her sweater. He lifted the sweater over her head and reached for the t-shirt. The shirt dropped from his hands as he tried to orient it properly. _Crap!_ Apparently he wasn't as good at this whole 'undressing a girl with his eyes closed' thing as he thought he would be. He fumbled around for the shirt but couldn't find it. Reluctantly he opened his eyes, locating the shirt. Without thinking he stood up again, not closing his eyes. Her shirtless torso came into his view and he stared in awe. He knew he needed to look away, close his eyes. He wasn't supposed to be looking at her that way, but _damn!_ was she hot.

"_You're way better than Jess. I can trust you. You're nicer and funnier and waaaay cuter."_ Her words from earlier came flooding back into his head. He squeezed his eyes shut again. She was drunk; she didn't mean it when she said that. And he, well he was a horny 20 year old guy with a half naked girl in his room, it wouldn't be normal if he _didn't_ want to look. It didn't mean anything. Only what about everything else? She showed up at his door crying and he comforted her…he wasn't exactly the kind of guy who comforted crying girls. And he had cancelled his date for her. He had spent an entire Friday night in a hospital waiting room with her just because. If that didn't mean anything…and that's when it hit him—he had it bad for Rory Gilmore.

He quickly pulled the shirt on over her head and opened his eyes. "Umm, sit down," he instructed nervously. She did as she was told. He lifted her feet and pulled the sweat pants legs over her own, sliding them up until they reached the hem of her skirt. "Stand up." She stood again and he shimmied the pants the rest of the way up her legs underneath her skirt before unzipping the skirt and pulling it off of her.

"OK done," he said hastily.

"Mmhmm," she mumbled, falling back on the bed.

Logan stood there for a moment, not sure what to say or do. She was lying flat on her back, that wasn't good. She already threw up once, she could do it again.

"Rory, you have to lie on your stomach."

"No move!" came the terse reply.

"Rory," he walked over to her and helped her turn over. There was no way he was getting her under the covers so he grabbed a throw blanket and tossed it over her. He moved the garbage can by her side.

"Night Logan," she said softly, and barely coherently.

He stared down at her, half asleep, her hair cascading over her face. He bent down and pushed it back behind her ear. "Night, Ace," he whispered. He backed slowly out of the room and closed the door behind him. He fell back against the door and let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding. _Shit!_ What was he going to do now?


	11. If She Loves Him

_Ring ringring ring._

Rory swatted her hand at the nightstand, trying to come in contact with the snooze button. Her hand landed on something smaller than an alarm clock and she suddenly realized that the ringing had been coming from her phone. She groaned, pulling the phone off the stand and reluctantly flipping it open, before burying her face in the pillow again.

"Hello," she mumbled.

"Gooood morning!" the all too cheery voice of Lorelai chirped.

"Hey," she chanced a quick peek at the clock before once again shielding her eyes from the light of day. "It's early, why are you calling so early?"

"Uh, I don't know, I must have screwed up the time difference. What time is it there?"

"The same time as it is there," Rory said with a touch of annoyance. _Note to self, hangover—bad._

"Ah, sorry."

"How's it going?" Rory asked, trying to sound interested.

"Good. A lot of walking. We all had pizza at John's in the village and wrote a musical."

"Good for you."

"Then we picked the same Dean Martin song on the juke box twenty-five ti…" Lorelai's ramble was interrupted by the sound of knocking. "Did someone just knock on your door?" Lorelai asked hesitantly, silently praying that she was just hearing things. It couldn't be Jess. Rory wouldn't have spent the night with Jess. Rory had promised her she wasn't even ready to think about taking that step with Jess.

"Ummm…sort of," Rory admitted sheepishly, sitting up in bed.

"Sort of? What does that mean?"

"Well, it's not exactly my door…"

Lorelai let out a slight sigh of relief, there could still be a reasonable explanation for this; maybe she had spent the night at her grandmother's after all. "So, whose door is it?"

"Hey, Ace…I thought I heard you up, I…." Logan trailed off as he peeked his head into the room and saw Rory on the phone. He probably should have kept quiet.

_Or she wasn't at her grandmother's._ Lorelai realized.

Rory gave Logan a look that confirmed what he had suspected. She was either on the phone with her mother, or her boyfriend. He felt himself growing angry at the mere thought of Jess but tried to contain his ire as he slowly backed out of the room, willing himself not to stay near the door and eves drop.

Rory sighed as Logan left the room. "Logan's," she admitted to her mother. "It's Logan's door."

"O…K," Lorelai responded, trying to form a coherent thought. Her high school aged daughter had spent the night in at a college boy's dorm room. That was nothing to freak out about, right? "Why are you at Logan's?"

"Well," Rory began. "Dinner didn't go so well."

"So…you and Jess broke up?" Lorelai asked, trying to figure out what was going on.

"No!"

"So you're still with Jess but you spent the night with Logan?" Lorelai's head was really starting to hurt. Staying calm was becoming more and more difficult.

"I didn't 'spend the night' _with_ Logan. I just kinda…spent the night _at_ Logan's," she tried to explain.

"OK, so why did you spend the night at Logan's?"

"Well," Rory began. "Jess and I got into the most horrible fight of my life and it was…ugh. I can't even say."

"Oh, honey," Lorelai said apologetically. She still hadn't forgotten about the whole 'spending the night with Logan' thing but she would get back to that eventually.

"He showed up with a big black eye."

"A black guy?" Lorelai asked, honestly confused.

"Eye," Rory reiterated. "A black eye. He got into a fight.

"With who, Dean?"

"He wouldn't say, but yes, and he was all standoffish about it and things got worse and worse and he walked out. It was all horrible," Rory explained.

"Wow, honey. I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

"I'm upset, but I'm okay."

"Good, then as long as your OK, I'm still waiting for my explanation here."

"Well, Grandma took it really well, she was amazingly polite the whole time, even when he showed up late, but I was still pretty humiliated. I didn't really feel like staying there."

"Understandable."

"But I didn't really feel like being alone and it was too late to go to Lane's and you know how things are at school right now. I just didn't know where else to go."

"So you went to Logan's? You get into a fight with your boyfriend and you go run to another guy?"

"Logan's just a friend, Mom. You know that."

"Uh huh, sure," Rory was incredibly naïve sometimes.

"Mom," Rory rolled her eyes.

"Daughter," Lorelai mimicked her daughter's tone of voice.

"Ugh, not this again. I'm way too hung o…" Rory trailed off realizing what she had just let slip.

"Hung…out? Like you're all tired of hanging?" Lorelai asked, knowing that was not what her daughter was about to say. Rory remained silent. "Rory?" Lorelai asked, a hint of panic in her voice. "Rory, tell me you were not about to tell Mommy that you're hung over."

"I'm sorry," Rory sighed.

"You're sorry? You're _sorry_?" Lorelai screeched.

"Mom…"

"Don't 'Mom' me. My high school aged daughter went out to a college party or bar or something and got drunk, then spent the night with a college boy. You don't get to 'Mom' me."

"Nothing happened!" Rory insisted. She understood why her mother was upset but she had to trust her.

"Do you know that for sure? Just how drunk were you Rory? Maybe something happened and you blacked it out! I know I get the privilege of being the cool Mom most of the time but I'm still your mother and I expect at least a smidgen of responsibility from you, Rory. What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't thinking," Rory admitted. "I just wanted to stop thinking. I wanted to forget what an awful night I had, but I swear, nothing happened. Logan would never take advantage of me like that; even if he did feel that way about me, which he doesn't." It was true that she didn't remember much of the previous night's events but she was sure about what she said; Logan would never take advantage of her.

"Oh please," Lorelai scoffed. "I mean this in the nicest way possible but for someone so smart you can be awfully stupid sometimes."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rory asked defensively.

"Come one, Rory. That boy is completely in love with you, and you're in love with him. You're both just too stubborn to see it."

"That's not true, I love _Jess_!" Rory insisted loudly. There was completely silence for a moment.

"You love Jess?" Lorelai asked, once the initial shock had worn off.

"I…love Jess." Rory repeated, almost as a question. "Do I?" she asked, thinking out loud. "Do I love Jess?" She had never said those words about her boyfriend before, and he'd never said them to her.

"Well?" Lorelai asked impatiently.

"I love Jess. I. Love. Jess. I love Jess." She repeated over and over again, as though trying the words on for size. Something didn't fit.

"Rory?"

"No. I don't think I do…but it's still soon right? I mean, it's just too early for that. It doesn't mean anything."

"Or it means he's not the one you really want to be with," Lorelai suggested.

"No, that's ridiculous Mom. Just because I haven't gotten to the 'I love you' stage yet doesn't mean I don't want to be with him. It takes time to fall in love. I just need more time." But deep down Rory wondered why should would have even said such a thing. She knew she didn't love him yet, so why say it? Unless she thought she was supposed to be in love by now. If she didn't love him already, would she ever? Or was her mother right? Was Jess not really the guy for her? Something tugged at her mind, like a faint memory trying to escape. Something clouded over in the foggy area of her brain reserved for the previous night's memories. Was someone else the guy for her?

"Do you really believe that?"

Rory paused briefly, trying to find an answer. She couldn't come up with one. "I'm gonna go, Mom. I'll see you at home later." Rory hung up with out waiting for a reply.

* * *

"Hey," Rory said, walking out of Logan's room, dressed in her clothes from the previous night. 

Logan briefly glanced up from his spot at the kitchen table before bringing his eyes back down to the newspaper in front of him. "Hi."

Rory looked at him strangely, wondering why he wasn't making eye contact. "Is everything OK?"

"Yep," he replied shortly.

"Logan…?" she began again, wondering what his bad mood was all about.

"There's coffee in the pot over there," he interrupted her, pointing towards the coffee maker.

Rory glanced at the coffee, then back at Logan who was still staring intently at the paper. Without a word she walked over to the coffee pot and poured herself a mug-full of the brew. She walked back over to the table and sat down across from Logan. "Did I do something?"

"What are you talking about?" he braved another glance at her.

"Last night. Did I do something to make you mad at me? I can't really remember everything that happened so if I…"

"You didn't do anything," he cut her off.

"Then why are you acting like this?"

"Like what?" he asked.

Rory paused, trying to find the right word to describe the vibe she was getting from him. "Cold."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"So we're OK then?"

"Sure." There was silence for a moment, before he finally looked up and spoke more than five words.

"Are things OK with your Mom?" he asked her, in reference to the phone call he'd walked in on.

"I don't know. She was upset, but…I think it'll be OK." Rory answered honestly.

Logan nodded his head. "And Jess?" he asked, the bitterness would have been obvious to anyone, but Rory, as usual, was too oblivious to pick up on it.

"What about him?"

"Did you talk to him?"

"No."

"Oh," he paused. "You probably should. He might be worried."

Rory gave him another appraising look. All was not right with Logan. "He'll survive. I'm still mad at him anyway."

"But you're going to forgive him." It wasn't a question.

"It was just a fight. A bad one, but still…"

"Well, if you love him," Logan replied flipply, once again, tearing his gaze away from her.

"What? Who ever said anything about—" Rory trailed off as realization hit her. "You were listening to my conversation."

"I wasn't listening, Rory. You practically screamed it," he defended.

She knew it was true. She had been pretty loud. Besides, if he really had been listening in, he would have heard the rest of the conversation. She was still angry, though. He had no right judging her or her relationship like that.

"What does it even matter to you anyway?" was her response. She didn't even bother to correct him.

"Well excuuuuse me, if I'm concerned about the fact that one of my friends in claiming to be in love with a scumbag who treats her like dirt. Excuse me, if I don't like the idea of you showing up at my doorstep in tears." Sarcasm dripped from his every word.

"Fine, next time I'll find someplace else to go."

"That's not what I meant and you know it. This isn't about me not wanting you here when you're upset, this is about me not wanting you upset. The very fact that you openly just admitted 'next time' should be a tip off, Rory. He'll break your heart again. He doesn't deserve you."

"I think I can decide for myself who does and doesn't deserve me, Logan. I can decide who is and isn't worth my love. You don't get to make those decisions in my life," she stood up angrily.

"Fine. You know what? You're right. You have the right to let whoever the hell you want, walk all over you. Don't let me stop you from being in a crappy relationship."

"And what do you know about relationships?" Rory asked as she gathered up her coat. Her head was still pounding and she didn't want to deal with this anymore.

Logan ignored the jab. "Where are you going?" he asked, standing up from the table and walking towards her.

"To the bus stop."

"What? That's crazy. Listen, I'm sorry. You were right, it's your life, I shouldn't have said anything. I'm just worried about you. I won't mention it again, I swear. Just…let me give you a ride home." He knew she took the bus often, but he still didn't like it. Who knew what kind of crazy people could be on the bus.

She looked at him, into his eyes. He truly did look worried, and her anger melted away. She wasn't ready to let him off that easily though. "I don't think so Logan," she told him, but her voice was softened so that he knew she still wasn't really that angry.

"Then at least let me call Steph; she can give you a ride."

Rory sighed. "OK," she nodded.

"And you can help yourself to some tasty pastries while you wait," he motioned to the spread on the table.

"Well…" she said hesitantly. "A Gilmore girl can never say no to pastry."

"I didn't think so," he smirked.

"But I'm taking it to go and walking to Steph's to meet her. Call her and let her know so that she and Colin have sufficient time to get decent."

"I'll take care of it," he assured her with a smile.

"Bye, Logan."

"See ya Friday, Ace."

She smiled as she walked out of the dorm. "See ya Friday."

* * *

"Twenty-six" Logan mumbled from his spot at the kitchen table. He had his lap top out and papers spread all over the surface. 

"Twenty-six what?" Colin asked, looking up from his reading, where he sat on the couch.

"Twenty-six days of school."

"You do realize that you're not making any sense, right?" Colin asked.

Logan looked up, staring at Colin over the brim of his reading glasses. "It's the number of days of school Jess has missed according to these attendance records."

"I'm not even going to ask how you got those, and I'm going to skip right to the 'what the hell?'"

"Twenty." Logan responded.

"OK, you're going to have to give me more here."

"Twenty. It's the maximum number of days a Stars Hollow High student can miss."

"So what you're saying is…"

"Jess has officially flunked high school."

"So you have your revenge. You tell Rory that Jess isn't going to graduate, that he's probably been lying to her about even going to school…she'd have to be an idiot to stay with him then."

Logan sighed audibly.

"You are going to tell her, aren't you?"

"She loves him." He rolled his eyes at the thought. How the hell could she love him? But she did. He'd heard it with his own ears.

"Isn't that the point. To make her realize what a loser he is and stop loving him?"

"I don't have a lot of experience in the area, but I don't think you just stop loving someone."

"So if you tell her, then you're the bad guy." Logan nodded. That pretty much summed it up. "And if they do break-up, she's devastated because she still loves him _and_ it's all your fault."

"Gee Colin, way to make me feel better."

Colin ignored him. "Then she hates you for destroying her happiness and you have no hope of ever getting in her pants…"

"I get it Co…" Logan trailed off, realizing the full extent of what Colin had said. "Hey! I don't want to get in her pants." Well, he didn't _just_ want in her pants, though he wouldn't say no; not after his little revelation the previous night. Of course as it turned out, her little confession had been nothing after all. It was all just so screwed up.

"Right, you actually respect Rory so you'd probably want to take things a little slow, let her know she's not just like all the other girls."

"Colin!" Logan growled. Just because he'd admitted his feelings to himself, didn't mean he was ready to admit it to anyone else.

"I'm just saying…"

"Well don't. It's not like that."

"If it's not like that, then what do you have to lose by telling her? You're just a concerned friend looking out for her well being."

"I promised I'd butt out of her and Jess's relationship."

"Then why are you doing this again? Other than you being a big creepy stalker?"

Logan glared. "I'm not a stalker."

"Whatever you say." Colin rolled his eyes. Was Logan seriously still in denial about his feelings? Or was he just pretending he was still in denial.

"I don't make empty threats. I told Jess if he hurt Rory he'd regret it. I'm just looking out for her. She's my friend."

Colin stifeled a laugh at Logan's use of the term 'friend.' "Well then tell her anonymously. Print out the attendance records and leave them in her mail box or something," he suggested, seemingly letting the 'friend' argument drop.

"I can't do that."

"Why not?"

Logan wasn't sure he could answer that. All he knew was that when he thought of her finding out, he could practically see the disappointment and heartbreak in her face. He couldn't be the one responsible for causing that, even if it was only as the messenger.

"That's what I thought," Colin replied smugly. "You've really got it bad."


	12. Not 'That' Girl

**AN: So I have excuses, really good ones that involve me working 80 hours a week so that I can actually add that "Dr." in front of my name in the next year; but I know you don't actually care about any of that, so I'll just go ahead and give you the chapter now. I hope that by the time you finish reading it that you will have forgiven me for taking so long to update ;)**

* * *

Rory sat on the couch, blankly staring at the copy of "Catch 22" sitting on her lap. She had been on the same page for the past forty-five minutes. It was almost 6 and she still hadn't heard from Jess. They were supposed to go out when he got off of work the previous night. She and Lorelai had rushed Friday night dinner at the Gilmore residence just so they could get to their dates on time, and instead, Rory had spent the entire night studying and cleaning her key board. She had seen Jess at the Diner that morning and he'd barely said two words to her, not seeming at all fazed by the fact that he'd stood her up. And now she was _still_ waiting around for his call. The worst part of it all was that she wasn't surprised—reliability wasn't exactly one of Jess's strong points. She should have learned her lesson by know, she should have known better that to trust Jess's words. Like their last fight—she had finally found out that he was telling the truth about not getting into a fight with Dean, but then he told her he'd gotten his black eye by throwing a football around with a friend. There were several things wrong with that story—not the least of which was that if it were true he never would have hid it in the first place. Despite that, she had chosen to accept the story and forgive him— to put her faith in him yet again—and again he was letting her down. When would she learn?

The phone next to her rang and before she could stop herself, she reached out and grabbed for it, answering it on the first ring. "Hello," she said as nonchalantly as she could.

"Rory," came a surprised, and very familiar voice that did not belong to her boyfriend.

"Mom," she greeted; the annoyance clearly evident in her voice. She didn't know if she was more annoyed with the fact that it wasn't Jess calling, or with the fact that she was annoyed with the fact that it wasn't Jess calling.

"What are you doing there?" Lorelai asked.

Rory sighed. Who else would be at their house? "What do you mean what am I doing here? I live here, remember? Who were you expecting to find?"

"No one, I was calling to check messages and see if Mom called."

"Well she hasn't. No one has. In fact, this is the first time the phone has rung all day."

"Ahhhh," Lorelai replied knowingly.

"What 'ah' ?" Rory asked defensively.

"OK. Get out."

"Excuse me?"

"Out of the house, get out of the house."

"Why?"

"Why? Look at the clock. What does it say?"

"It says…." Rory tried to sneak a peak at her watch while keeping the phone to her ear and the book on her lap. "…six."

"So it is six on a Saturday night. Which means you have now spent a day and a night waiting for him to call."

"I know."

"Well that's not good kid. Look, let's say he does call. You can't be the kind of girl that gets all mad in her head and then forgets everything once he deigns to show up. Right"

"Yeah." She replied guiltily. She didn't want to be that girl, she really didn't.

"OK, so don't just sit there waiting. Go out, do something."

"Like what?" What else did she have to do?

"I don't know; what's Lane doing tonight?"

"She's going to the hockey game with her fake boyfriend." Even Lane managed to have plans, despite her crazy, strict, religious mother.

"Perfect."

"Perfect?" Rory asked incredulously. "It's a hockey game."

"It'll be fun. There'll be cheerleaders and…clowns and…people doing the wave." Lorelai was clearly grasping at straws, having no clue what went on at a hockey game.

"You have no idea what a hockey game is, do you?" Rory asked, with slight amusement in her voice.

"Fine; what are Limo Boy and Co. doing?"

Rory rolled her eyes at the nickname but let it slide. "They're having a party at their dorm."

"A party?" Lorelai asked excitedly. "You _love_ parties."

Rory made a face that her mother couldn't see. "No I don't."

"No, you really don't," Lorelai admitted defeat, but didn't let it stop her. "But you're eighteen, you're _supposed_ to love parties. At this age, you should be sneaking off to keggers, not having your mother trying to coerce you into them. Do you really want to be the girl whose Mommy forced her to socialize? Those are usually the girls with the funny teeth and the greasy hair. You don't have funny teeth _or_ greasy hair."

"I am _not_ unsocial." Rory insisted.

"I love you hun but you can be a little hermit-y from time to time."

"I'm not a hermit. OK, so maybe I'm a little…introverted, but that's not the same thing."

"If you say so."

"I'm not!" She had a boyfriend "_who was standing her up"_ and friends_ "who were all actually out doing something on their Saturday night while she sat alone and read a novel she'd already read twice." _A tiny voice reminded her.

"Uh huh."

"Fine, and how do you expect me to get to this party?"

"You can borrow the car. All you have to do in return is drop off some serving dishes and the slide projector at your grandmother's on the way."

"Ahh, and your true motivation reveals itself," Rory replied, finally catching on.

"Well, you know, as much as I love seeing my mother, I would gladly give up our quality bonding time together so that my favoritest daughter in the whole wide world could spend a Saturday night with friends."

"Really, you sound heart broken."

"I am."

Rory gave a sigh of defeat. "Fine, I'll go."

"Good, and don't forget to look hot. We wouldn't want Yale to think that Gilmore girls are dogs."

"Mom!"

"What? There could be secret hidden admissions recruiters hanging around all incognito making sure the next generation of Elis meet the hotness quota. You wouldn't want to get rejected because you went to that party looking frumpy, would you?"

"Yale does not have a hotness quota."

"And remember, drinking and driving is bad. If you get really toasted I'm sure Logan could find some room for you in his bed."

"Mom, I told you nothing happened. Will you stop with that, please." Lorelai had been hounding her about the incident for a couple of weeks now.

"Fine," Lorelai relented. "But I'm serious. If you're going to drink maybe you should just plan to stay over now."

"Oh, so now it's OK for me to get drunk and crash at Logan's?"

"Well, he already took your 'spending the night with a guy' virginity so you might as well."

"If you want to get technical, I lost that back when I went to the Chilton dance with Dean and we fell asleep at Miss Patty's."

Lorelai gasped dramatically. "You're right! My daughter's a slut. I should come home and lock you in your room this instant."

"Good bye, Mom."

"Bye darling daughter of mine…and don't forget about that hotness quota."

Rory rolled her eyes, pressing the off button on the phone and setting it back down, almost actually looking forward to this party.

* * *

"What'll it be, Love?" Finn asked from behind the bar. "Ooh, I know just the thing," he said excitedly, before she had a chance to answer.

Rory laughed; knowing that Finn was never up to any good when it came to alcohol. "Nothing too strong, please," she flashed him an innocent looking smile.

"Now where's the fun in that?"

"Finn," she replied sternly.

"I promise, you'll barely be able to taste the alcohol at all."

"Finny," she whined.

"Now don't call me that, Love," he lowered his voice to a whisper, "If word gets out that I let you call me that all the other girls will think they aren't special."

"They're not special, Finn."

He gasped in mock horror. "I love each and every red head in here."

Rory laughed. "I'm sure you do…but can you tell me any of their names?" She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for an answer.

His eyes frantically searched the room. "Ooh! That's Rosemary," he pointed at one red head in particular.

"So that's one. There must be half a dozen red heads in this room and you can name one. And how many of them do you think you've actually slept with, Finn?"

"Umm, well I would say five. Rosemary's been holding out on me. It's only a matter of time though. I know she wants my body."

Rory laughed. "I should have known you only remember the names of the ones you can't get into your bed.

"C'est la vie, kitten. Now here's you're drink. I expect to see you back here for a refill in the next hour or so. This is a party after all."

"I'll see what I can do about that," she replied with a roll of her eyes. "Thanks Finn."

* * *

"_You're my boy Blue! You're my boy!" _Colin cried out drunkenly, wiping the tears of laughter off his eyes.

"That movie was fucking hilarious," Logan commented.

"You really think have blow job classes like that? Because…damn!"

"Man, I hope so," Logan slurred. "I can think of a few girls who could certainly use 'em."

"You mean Huntz's harem of hotties aren't getting the job done lately?" Colin asked, sarcastically. "I wonder why? I don't suppose it could have anything to do with a certain blue-eyed beauty who happens to be here this very night?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Of course Logan knew exactly what Colin was talking about. No girl _had_ gotten the job done lately, mostly because he didn't let any of them close enough to try. Every time he was with another girl, all he could think about was Rory. He tried to get her off his mind…at least like that; he could never be the guy she needed, even if that asshole Jess weren't in the picture. He needed to be OK with just being friend with her; that had to be enough.

"Don't play dumb, I'm talking about the lack of activity in your bedroom the past few weeks. In fact, the last time I remember a girl being in there, you were sleeping on the couch."

"Well if it makes you feel any better, I got to see her naked," Logan wanted to take the words back the second they came out of his mouth. Ace wasn't the kind of girl you could talk about like that. He didn't even think she remembered that he had to help her get changed, and he knew she'd be humiliated.

"W_HAT!_" Colin exclaimed.

"Nothing, I said nothing," Logan replied with pleading eyes.

"That wasn't nothing, Logan."

"Really, it was. I swear, it was nothing. I just helped her get changed because all those shots she did with Finn severely diminished her hand-eye coordination. I don't think she even remembers. You can't say anything, Colin. She'd be beyond embarrassed," Logan begged.

Colin glanced around the room and spotted her chatting happily with Steph. "You know I'd never…" he trailed off as his eyes stopped on the journey back to Logan.

"What?" Logan tried to see what Colin was looking at. "What the _hell_ is he doing here?"

"Well I certainly didn't invite him. You think she asked him to show?"

"No. I think she came here to get away from him."

"Well then, I suggest we help her achieve that goal," Colin suggested. "What do you say we show him the door."

Logan couldn't believe that Jess had actually had the audacity to show up at their dorm. He knew how much he was hated, and yet he waltzed right on in like he owned the place. Rory was finally out having a fun night and he wasn't about to let Jess come in and make her miserable again. It was amazing how often he managed to make her miserable. Logan didn't know much about being a boyfriend, but he was pretty damn sure that making their girlfriends miserable, wasn't in the job description. "You think we could toss him out the window instead?"

"We could, but we live on the ground floor so it probably wouldn't have much impact."

"I always knew there was a down side to not having to take the stairs."

* * *

"So then she walks into the Inn and the whole lobby is covered in daisies…"

"A thousand of them?"

"A thousand of them…exactly one thousand."

"That is so romantic," Stephanie gushed at the telling of the story.

"Yeah, until we ran away to Harvard right before her wedding."

"Ugh, Harvard."

Rory ignored the comment about Harvard, knowing better then to defend a rival school while at a Yale party. "Mom can be a bit indecisive…and she tends to be a bit of a heart breaker."

"So I guess that's a genetic trait," Steph said with a smirk.

"What is?"

"Being a heart breaker."

"Who me?"

"Duh!" Steph rolled her eyes at Rory's obliviousness.

"I'm not a heart breaker," Rory protested adamantly. She had no idea what Stephanie was talking about.

"Well it was pretty obvious at the carnival that that Dean guy wasn't over you. And we've all heard about how hard DuGrey has been working to charm his way into your pants…and then there's Logan. You've got guys falling at your feet left and right, Gilmore."

"Wait a second. Back that thought up."

Stephanie silently cursed herself for her slip up. "What, the part about Tristan?"

"No, not the part about Tristan," Rory replied agitatedly. "Try the part just after that."

"I don't think I said anything after that."

"Steph! What the heck were you saying about Logan?" She couldn't be serious. There was no way Logan had a thing for her—he was, well…Logan.

"Just forget I mentioned it."

"Fine, it's crazy anyway. There's no way he likes me like that—he could have any girl in this room."

"Not any girl—he can't have you, can he?"

"So what's your point?"

"Nothing." Steph shook her head. "I don't have a point. Like I said, just forget I even mentioned it."

"Fine, I think it's time for a trip back to the bar anyway," Rory nodded at her empty glass. She hadn't planned on having seconds but now she suddenly felt the need for a bit more of the libations. She turned around and that's when she spotted him walking through the door. Great, Jess at Logan's, there was a perfect recipe for disaster; not to mention her own conflicting feelings. Part of her wanted to smile and go greet him happily as though she'd never even been mad at him—but she had been mad at him. She wasn't going to be the girl that let her boyfriend treat her like crap and then went running right into his arms. Her mother was right about that. Still, she had to go talk to him; it probably wasn't a good idea for Jess to be there. She slowly made her way over to him.

"Hey, I figured I'd find you here," he said as she approached. "I mean, you say the words 'raging dorm party', you say the word 'Rory,'" he joked.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him, her resolve weakening slightly at the look he gave her.

"I came to bring you these," he said, holding up something small and yellow.

"Ear plugs? I know it's a little loud in here, but I don't think it requires ear plugs."

"I got tickets to the Distiller's," he explained himself.

"You did, for when?" Rory asked excitedly, cursing herself for her weakness when it came to him.

"Tonight."

_Tonight?_ _Was he serious?_ That was it. She had to put an end to this stupid cycle she had with him. It was time to put her foot down. She wasn't just going to wait around for him and jump whenever he said the word. "No"

"No? No what?"

"No, I can't go with you."

"Why the hell not?"

"I'm busy, Jess. My friends are having a party and here I am. I can't just leave. Maybe if you had bothered to make plans with me instead of just saying 'I'll call you later' and then never calling, I'd be free to go with you, but you didn't and I'm not."

"Is there a problem here?" a voice interrupted.

Rory turned around to see Logan and Colin. They were both staring menacingly at Jess. Perfect, just perfect. "It's fine, guys," she told them. "I've got it under control."

"Are you sure? Because if you want him to leave…"

"No, Jess and I were just having a little chat. We'll take it outside now."

"OK, but if you change your mind…"

"Logan," she said insistently. "I can handle this."

Logan didn't take his eyes off of Jess. He didn't trust him one bit, but there wasn't much he could do here. He made a mental note to go looking for her if she wasn't back in ten minutes. "Fine," he said after a moment's pause. He watched intently as Rory and Jess walked out of the party.

Rory and Jess were silent as they made their way out into the court yard outside Berkley Hall. Once they were finally out of the building and by themselves, Rory spoke up. "I just want you to know that this is the last weekend I spend sitting around like an idiot hoping you'll call, okay? I'm not going to be that girl. From now on, I want a plan. I mean a real plan with a time and a place."

"Rory," Jess tried to interrupt but she wasn't deterred.

"I'm tired of hearing 'Let's hook up later.' What does that mean anyway? What's later? How do I set my watch to later? Later doesn't cut it anymore."

"I'm busy, Rory. I work two jobs. Things come up," he defended lamely.

"Well then how about a freaking call? Is that too much to ask? Maybe it is. Maybe I'm spoiled. But guess what? I like being spoiled. I plan to go on being spoiled. And if that doesn't sound like something that you can or want to do, then fine. I'm sure you'll find another girl who doesn't mind sitting around cleaning her keyboard on a Friday night hoping you'll call, but it's not going to be me," she let out a deep breath as she finished her rant, wrapping her arms around herself, partly to keep the cold away, and partly in and attempt to hold back her tears. She shifted her gaze to the floor.

"Rory, be reasonable."

"No." She looked up at him again. "I deserve better than this, Jess."

"You're right, you do and I'm trying here, OK. I'm doing my best."

"I know you have a low opinion of yourself, Jess, but if you seriously think this is the best you can do…"

"It is. Do you honestly think I'm not trying?"

"Fine, then. If this is really your best, if you have nothing more to give, well then, I'm sorry," she took a deep breath and steadied her nerves. "But I don't think it's enough."

"What are you saying?" he asked her, not believing his ears.

"I'm saying it's over, Jess. You and me, we're done," she looked away, hoping not to let him see the tears in her eyes.

"You can't be serious."

"I think you should go now, Jess."

"Rory, please. Give me a second chance here."

"I've given you a million second chances."

"You're serious about this?" he asked one last time. She bit her lip and nodded. He just stood there a moment longer, letting the shock set in, before turning and slinking away, without another word.

* * *

"Hey, there you are," Logan said as he approached Rory who had just walked back into the room. She ignored him and made a bee-line for the bar. "Is everything OK?" he asked, following after her.

"Something strong, Finn," she told the Australian behind the counter.

"Love?" he asked, looking at her appraisingly. "What's the matter?"

"I just…really need a drink right now."

Finn didn't want to press too much so he nodded his head in understanding. "Well, what the lady wants, the lady gets."

"Ace?" Logan asked tentatively.

She turned on him suddenly. "Please, the last thing I need to hear right now is 'I told you so.'" She turned back to the bar and grabbed her drink out of Finn's hands, downing it in one gulp. She handed the cup back to Finn who looked at her worriedly.

"You know love, it takes years of heavy drinking to develop my tolerance; perhaps you should slow down a bit."

"I don't want to slow down, I want to get drunk."

"Finn, don't serve her anymore," Logan ordered.

"Right, mate."

She turned on Logan angrily. "Excuse me? What the hell gives you the right to tell Finn not to serve me?"

"Well, it's my party, my alcohol, so I have the right to tell Finn not to serve anybody."

"Fine," she said, crossing her arms over her chest angrily. "I'll just find someone to get drinks for me."

"Did you ever stop and think that maybe we're looking out for you when we cut you off? I'm not just doing this to be a pain in your ass, Ace."

"Like you're one to talk, you've been drunk since before I got here."

"Yes, but I'm still rational. You're being irrational already and getting pissed isn't going to help matters."

"Yeah, well I…I…" she stuttered, the tears finally starting to well up in her eyes. The silent tears broke into heaving sobs and she threw herself into Logan's arms. He was shocked for a moment, but then he wrapped his arms around her and gently rubbed soothing circles on her back.

Logan looked up and noticed that half the party was staring at them, and the girls did not look pleased. "Hey," he whispered in her ear. Why don't we go to my room," he suggested, wanting to get her away from the prying eyes.

He guided her across the crowded common room over to his bedroom, unlocking the door and letting them in. He brought her over to his bed and sat her down. He kneeled in front of her so he could look her in the eye. "What happened, Ace?"

"We…we…" she sobbed. "We broke up."

At those words, a thousand different emotions over took him. Anger—at Jess; how dare he have the audacity to come here and hurt and humiliate her like that. Empathy—for Rory; it broke his heart to see her so upset. And then of course, there was the part of him that was doing little flip flops at the news. He hated himself for being happy about this, but he couldn't help it; he couldn't help but be relieved that that asshole was finally out of the picture.

"He's an idiot, Rory. He'd have to be to break up with you. Does he honestly think he'll ever find anyone better?"

She shook her head, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I broke up with him."

Logan didn't know what to make of this. If she was the one who did the breaking up, why was she so upset? If she finally realized what a low-life punk Jess was, what was there to cry over? Logan sighed, resigning himself to the fact that he would probably just never understand women.

"Maybe I made a mistake. Maybe it's not too late. I should try and catch him," she said, standing up from the bed. Logan pulled her back down.

"Is that really what you want?" She sighed in response. "Does he make you happy, Rory?"

She shook her head. "No," she said softly. "He hasn't made me happy in a long time."

"You did the right thing, Rory. You deserve someone who makes you happy. You deserve a lot…not some jaded punk who can't even graduate high school."

She lifted her head slowly to look at Logan. "What?"

_Crap!_ "Nothing."

"What do you mean he can't graduate high school?"

Logan sighed. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to tell her now. They already broke up, so he wouldn't be the bad guy for coming between them, he would just be helping her feel better about her decision. "Jess has missed more days of school than allowed…he's not going to graduate.

"How do you know this?"

"I'm a Huntzberger, getting the dish on people is in my blood."

"So you were spying on him?" she asked accusatorily.

"No! I just…did a little research."

"Why? Why would you do that?"

"I was worried about you," he admitted, his voice soft and concerned. "He wasn't good for you Rory. I didn't want to see you get hurt."

"That's not your job, Logan. I don't need a protector. I can protect myself just fine."

"I know you can, I just…" he tried to find the words. How much did he tell her?

"You just what?" she asked, her voice suddenly not angry anymore.

"I just…" his eyes caught hers dead on and their gazes locked onto one another. He stretched his neck up, the gap between them getting smaller and smaller.

_Rap-rap-rap._ He pulled back instantly, jumping up just as the knocking stopped and the door slowlycreaked open.

"Hey, how's it going?" Steph asked softly as she entered the room. "I heard things didn't go so well with…I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

Rory shook herself out of her trance and smiled weakly at her friend. "I will be; thanks."

"Good," Steph smiled back. "Logan, do you mind?" she asked. "I think times like these require a little girl bonding."

"Yeah…I'll just…" He pointed over his shoulder towards the door as he slowly backed out of the room, shutting the door behind him.


	13. Even Better Than Baywatch

**AN: So I used to have this episode on my computer but my hard drive crashed a while back and I lost it. Since the usual sights I get clips from have taken them down, I only had transcripts to reference and not the actual episode. So I appologize if some of my description of events is a little off. I did my best. Hope you enjoy, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter :)**

* * *

Rory stared at the girl in her doorway. Paris Gellar was the last person she had expected to see standing on her porch when the doorbell had rung a moment ago. Sure, Headmaster Charleston had roped them into delivering a speech together for Chilton's bicentennial celebration, but the plan had been to work on it over the phone. Paris was dead set against spending anymore time with Rory than necessary; she clearly still felt betrayed by the conversation Rory had had with Francie regarding the student government and a certain boy who had captured Paris's heart…or at least the Gellar version of a heart. "What are you doing here?

"We have a speech to write," Paris clipped.

Rory gave Paris a funny look and replied slowly, "Yes, but we were supposed to do it over the phone. That was the plan."

"Well, it's a ridiculous plan," Paris scoffed. "We have to put two speeches together. We have to rehearse them, we have to hone our timing. None of that can be done effectively over the phone," Paris continued on as though she were explaining things to a five year old.

Rory shouldn't have been surprised by this, sure it was Paris who had insisted on doing things over the phone but Paris always marched to the beat of her own drummer. Things were done her way…and her way was never sane or predictable. Still, Rory couldn't help but comment, "But it was your idea."

"Oh, like you fought me on it?"

"Of course I didn't fight you on it." Rory had learned long ago that it was rarely worth fighting Paris on anything; after all, this was the girl who reveled in her ability to make people cry during a debate.

"Well, okay then," Paris commented, entering further into the house.

Rory looked from Paris to the door and back to Paris. "What, okay then? Our conversation did not just come to a close. There was not a decision made back there just now."

"Look, I'm here, we should just do this and get it over with. Do you wanna study here or in your bedroom?" Rory just stared at her. "Fine, I'll go to a payphone," Paris snapped. "Do you have payphones in this town or are you still using a town crier?"

Rory shook her head in defeat. "We'll do it here."

"Whatever you say." Paris followed Rory into her bedroom.

"So, I think the first thing to do is to acquaint ourselves with each others' speeches so we can judge who hit which point best," Paris started, launching immediately into work mode. "Here." She pulled a stack of papers out of her book bag and handed them to Rory.

Rory took the papers and walked over to her desk, picking her own speech up and handing it to Paris. "Mine."

"Good. Let's read," Paris said, situating herself on the bed. "Why did you use this font?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "Because I was on the crack," she replied sarcastically.

"Did you check these facts?" Paris continued, ignoring Rory's remark.

"Yes, I did."

"And the spelling of these names?"

"Yes, I did," Rory sighed frustratedly.

"Rory?" Paris asked, looking up from the papers.

"What, Paris?" Rory replied, wondering what ridiculous question Paris could have now.

"I slept with Jamie. Last night, after we talked."

Rory's head shot up. She certainly hadn't been expecting _that_. "Was it something I

said?"

"I went over there to study and he lit a fire and then we did it. What are your thoughts on that?" Paris asked matter-of-factly, as though she were inquiring into Rory's thoughts on Principal Wood turning out to be the son of Spike's second slayer snack.

"My thoughts?" Rory chocked out.

"Because I'm not exactly sure how I feel about it myself yet," Paris started rambling on. "I've been going over it in my head. I mean, it seemed to go pretty well. The fire was nice and thank God he didn't try to put on any ridiculous makeout music, and then it just happened. I was actually fairly surprised at the timing of it because I wasn't wearing anything particularly alluring, and in the moments just before the act. . ."

"Oh, God," Rory whined, not at all looking forward to hearing the details of the pre-coital period…or the coital period, or the post-coital period for that matter.

"We were actually discussing modern day Marxism in America," Paris continued on, not noting, or not caring about, Rory's obvious discomfort. "Which is not what I would have deemed a 'come and get it' sort of conversation, but nevertheless, he came and got it, and I have to figure out what that means to me on a psychological level. So, I thought maybe if you and I could have sort of a healthy debate about it, I could come to some sort of reasonable conclusion about how I should be feeling right about now. So, come on, talk. What do you think?"

"I –"

"Are you pro?"

"Well –"

"Con?"

"Well –" She seriously didn't know what Paris expected her to say about this.

"Undecided?" Paris gave her another option.

"Paris, just stop talking for one second and let me get my mind around this," Rory insisted. If she had to give an opinion at least Paris could stop talking long enough to let her form one.

"Sorry, go ahead, focus." A pregnant pause filled the air. "Could you focus faster because I really need some feedback here."

"Okay, so you are telling me that you and Jamie. . ." Rory started.

"Had sex," Paris stated.

"Okay, so, were you safe?" Rory asked, trying to get all her facts straight.

Paris nodded. "Yes, it was a regular after school special."

"Well, was he nice to you?"

"Yes, he was very nice to me," the blonde confirmed.

"And the two of you had discussed this…"

"Well, I don't know that we actually discussed it, it was just sort of implied."

"Implied?" Rory asked, not quite sure how something so big could just be "implied."

"Yes, implied. When you're dating a boy and you're together for a given amount of time and you're not Amish, then the eventual occurrence of intercourse is inevitable. I mean, wasn't it with you?"

"What?" Paris didn't seriously think that she'd had sex, did she?

"With Dean."

"No." Rory shook her head. Apparently Paris did.

"No?"

"No. I never did it with Dean," Rory set her straight.

"Oh. Well, then with Jess, right?" Apparently not straight enough.

"Um, no."

"Logan?" Paris questioned.

"_What?_"

"Well, I mean, come on; everyone knows Huntzberger gets around," Paris replied bluntly.

"Yeah, _he_ gets around. He gets around with blonde, college bimbos whose bra sizes are bigger than their IQs. He doesn't get around with me," Rory snapped.

"Ooh, don't sound too bitter there."

"Bitter? I'm not bitter. Why would I be bitter?" Rory replied defensively.

"You've got a thing for him."

"No I don't," Rory insisted. She didn't. He was her friend—that was it. Sure there was that moment after the break up when she thought he was going to kiss her and she didn't think she was going to stop him, but she was under emotional distress. Besides, he wasn't really going to kiss her; that would just be insane, right?

"I can't believe it; you have a thing for Huntzberger. Are you insane? I mean the boy has probably been to the health center to get treated for the Clap more often than he's been to class."

"He's not that bad," Rory rolled her eyes. "Besides, who are you to talk? How many years have you spent mooning over Tristan?"

"I was young and naïve," Paris defended.

"It wasn't even a year ago," Rory reminded her exasperatedly. Paris had been in love with Tristan since before Rory had started at Chilton and never really got over her crush until she met Jamie the previous summer.

"Yes, but now I've found myself a real man."

"Whom you may or may not have been ready to have sex with."

"Don't change the subject, this isn't about me," Paris scolded, shifting uncomfortably under Rory's scrutiny.

"Umm, yes it is," Rory reminded her with a roll of her eyes. "You came in here and started with your, 'I had sex, let's have a healthy debate so I can decided how I feel about it' talk."

"Well that was before. Now I've decided that I'd rather analyze your screwed up love life than mine."

"I don't have a screwed up love life, because I don't have a love life. You on the other hand have a very interesting love life that I think needs to be further discussed." What had Rory's world come to when she'd voluntarily chose to discuss Paris's sex life?

Paris ignored her. "If it makes you feel any better, I've heard rumors--"

"What kind of rumors…" Rory asked, sitting up a bit straighter, before she realized what she was doing. She slumped back down and looked away from Paris. "I mean—so, you and Jaime, huh?"

"No no no! I don't think so. You want to know what people are saying about Huntzberger."

"It's just stupid gossip," Rory insisted, refusing to give in to the desire to tackle Paris and beat the information out of her—why should she care?

"Gossip that you're dying to hear—don't deny it; I can see it in your eyes."

"Paris…"

"So you're telling me that you have absolutely no interest in hearing about how slowly the line has been moving these days?" Paris goaded.

"What line?" Rory asked despite herself.

"Well actually, from what I hear it hasn't been moving at all. My cousin knows a girl who's been at the head of the line for about a month now and nothing—not so much as a patented Huntzberger smirk in her direction."

"Paris, _what line?" _Rory burst out in frustration.

Paris looked at the brunette girl knowingly. "See, I knew you cared."

"Fine, I care. OK? But it's just innocent curiosity, it doesn't mean anything."

"Are you trying to fool yourself, or me?"

"I'm not fooling."

"You're seriously telling me that you've never had the slightest urge to kiss that boy senseless?"

An image of Logan in front of Rory—looking deep into her eyes, his lips millimeters away from hers and getting closer by the moment—flashed through her mind.

"Oh I knew it; I _so_ knew it," Paris said standing up in triumph and pointing an accusatory finger at her friend.

Rory snapped out of her daze and glared angrily at her friend who was practically dancing and 'I told you so' dance around her.

"I was upset and confused. I'd just broken up with Jess and Logan was being all comforting and then he …" Rory trailed off—she'd admitted too much already.

"He what?" Paris asked, wide eyed.

Rory sighed. "Nothing."

"Oh no you don't," the blonde girl warned.

"It was probably all in my head."

"Tristan doesn't call you 'Mary' for nothing, you know. You really are as innocent as all that—it's kind of sickening. But the point is, if _you_ think there was even the possibility of something, it had to be big, so you better spill," Paris demanded, sitting back on the bed and waiting to hear the story.

Rory huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Rory!"

"Fine!" she finally gave in. "It _may_ have been possible that he _might_ have tried to _possibly_ kissme," she rushed the last two words together.

"He tried to kiss you?" she asked, grinning like a mad Cheshire cat.

"Maybe," Rory reiterated.

"What happened?"

"We got interrupted."

"But you would have kissed back?"

"I told you, I was upset and confused."

"You were moony and in love."

"I'm not in love."

"Lust, love—potato, patato."

"I'm not in lust either," Rory rolled her eyes.

"Rory, just give up and admit you want the boy already. Sure, he may have the hair and the chin like the fourth Bee Gee, but better women than you have fallen for it before."

"Hey!" Rory shouted.

"And of course when I say better, I mean stupider but with bigger boobs and much more sexual experience."

"Thanks," Rory rolled her eyes.

"The way I see it, the difference this time, from what I hear anyhow, is that you actually have a chance to land this whale. You could be like…Annette Benning."

"I could not be Annette Benning."

"But you want to be."

Rory paused for a moment. Did she want to be? If it was even remotely possible that Logan liked her—and he was willing to commit to her, was willing to wait for her—would she want that? She smiled slightly at the thought. Oh god, she did want that! But then reality came rushing back—those were some awfully big 'ifs.'

"Logan and I are just too different, Paris. So just forget about it, please," Rory begged, now more anxious to get out of this conversation then ever before.

"Fine," Paris huffed, but she'd seen the look on her friend's face—turns out Rory wanted the whale after all.

Silence filled the room for a moment before Paris finally spoke again. "Listen, Rory, these last few weeks, Francie got things all twisted around."

"You let her get things all twisted around," Rory reminded her.

"I know. I just tend to believe the worst in people, you know?"

"Oh yeah, I know."

" I'm…"

Rory cut her friend off. "That's okay," she said with a small smile, effectively ending the conversation. As crazy as Paris was—it was good to have her back.

* * *

"So mate, anything good on the telly?" Finn asked, barging through the door of the common room followed by Colin.

Logan glanced up from his spot on the couch where he had been staring intently at the television. "Nope," he immediately turned back to the TV. "What time is it?" he asked, without looking away again.

"Umm, well if you'd unglue your eyes from the joys of CSPAN for five seconds to glance at the VCR two feet away you'd see it's 5:00.

"So you won't mind if I put on something else, then?" Finn asked, jumping over the back of the couch and sitting next to Logan. He grabbed the remote from his friend's hands. "I think a rerun of Baywatch is on." He began flipping through the channels.

"Hey, I was watching that," Logan yelled, a panicked look crossing his eyes as he grabbed for the remote back.

"You said it wasn't anything good," Finn defended, holding the remote away.

"Dude, what is your problem Huntz. It was fucking CSPAN for god's sake. It's all house votes and…" Colin took the remote from Finn and flipped back to CSPAN to see what had his friend so interested. He looked at the scroll on the bottom of the screen and his confused face gave way to one of complete and utter understanding. He grinned madly. "…Chilton bicentennials. So I suppose this is why the lovely Rory had to bail on us this afternoon."

Logan turned around and glared angrily at his friend, before grabbing the remote control back and turning away again. "You can save the mocking for later—it's about to start," Logan growled, nodding his head towards the TV just as a bearded, white haired man finished making a speech.

"_And it is with great pleasure that I introduce two young ladies that epitomize the very best of what Chilton has to offer."_

"Gee, I wonder if one of these sheilas he has the pleasure of introducing, has brown hair and striking blue eyes and goes by the name Rory?" Finn muttered.

"_Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Paris Gellar and Rory Gilmore."_

"Well what do you know, she does," Colin confirmed as they watched Rory and Paris walk out onto the stage.

"Oh no," Logan said, the panicked look from earlier returning.

"Nice 'do that other sheila's sporting," Finn commented sarcastically. "And the baggy sweatpants look is working for her too."

"And I'm guessing that would be Paris Gellar," Logan stated, referring to the shabbily dressed, girl with the ratty bun and 'someone just shot my puppy,' dazed expression on her face.

"And…?"

"And according to Ace, she's about a thousand times more anal that you on a really bad day," he informed Colin.

"And I don't suppose Chilton decided to do some sort of wacky skit and she was just really anal about the details of her zombie costume."

"Color me crazy, but Chilton doesn't really seem like a 'wacky skit' kind of institution."

"Sorry mate, I don't have any crayons." Colin and Logan both turned to give Finn a 'what the hell have you been smoking' look, but then shrugged and turned back to the TV.

"Oh, she's starting…" Logan said, pointing at the TV where the camera was zoomed in on Rory standing behind a podium.

"'_Apply yourself. Get all the education you can, but then do something. Don't just stand there, make it happen.' Lee Iacocca."_

The three guys stared intently at the screen as the camera panned over to Paris and paused. Paris stood there blankly and after a moment the camera panned back to Rory whose eyes were wide and darty from panic.

"Say something," Logan urged into the TV.

_"'Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.' Malcolm Forbes."_

There was another pause and this time the camera pulled out to capture both Rory and Paris.

"You think there's anyone in there? Or is she just a disheveled pod person?" Finn inquired. They all turned their attention back to the TV as Rory spoke again.

_"'Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.' Oscar Wilde." _

This time there was only a brief pause as Rory glanced over to Paris, realized she was still practically comatose, and continued with the speech."

"_These are only three of many countless views on the expansion of the human mind. I personally believe in all of them, and fortunately for me, so does Chilton. An institution not just because of age and standing, but because of ideas. Because it encourages ideas and it will accept nothing less than everything you have to give. This is the place where our lives start."_

"OK, good she's starting to—" Logan was cut off as Paris's voice suddenly sounded from the speakers.

" _You know, it's funny, me standing here before you right now."_

"And the lovely Shiela speaks."

" _I've thought about nothing else for four years but this school, this big important school with all of its history and tradition and really super teachers."_

"I think she's going to blow." Logan commented.

"Well by the looks on Rory's face I'm gonna say this Paris chick isn't sticking to the rehearsed version of the speech," Colin added as he watcher Rory flip madly through the pages in front of her.

"_And I dedicated myself to it completely, heart and soul, believing in its power, believing in its ability to get me where I needed to go. Harvard. I thought of nothing else. Many of you out there can attest to that fact. I was on my way and nothing could stop me. And here's the really funny thing – after four years of slaving away, I go home today and I found this."_

Paris held up an envelope.

"Break-up letter?"

"Jury duty?"

"Deportment papers?" The boys speculated.

" _I'm not going to Harvard. I got the tiny envelope, the one that reads, 'Sorry, Paris. We're not interested. Try again next year. Love, Harvard.' And the thing that's really funny here is, who in the world deserves to go to Harvard more than me? Have you seen how hard I've worked over these past four years? I mean, can anyone here believe that I'm not going to Harvard? I can't. I'm not going to Harvard. I am not going to Harvard. I had sex, but I'm not going to Harvard."_

"And things just got _really_ interesting," Colin said, raising his eyebrows.

"This is even better than Baywatch, mate."

"_And I have to tell you that if you asked me which of those two events I thought would be the least likely to happen, it would not be the not going to Harvard."_

"I don't know; some guys are turned on by crazy chick."

"Like you, Finn?" Colin pointedly asked his friend.

"I bet she's feisty but she'd have to dye her hair red."

"_Thank you and good night."_

"Oh Gilmore, you're a fool if you think you can put an end to this that easily."

"_I'm being punished. I had sex, so now I don't get to go to Harvard._

"If that's the rule I vote we take a road trip to Harvard. Virgins to be corrupted as far as the eye can see," Finn replied wistfully.

"_Paris, come on."_

Rory was now leading Paris off the stage.The boys were about to turn away, thinking it was over but Paris turned around.

"_She's never had sex. She'll probably go to Harvard. She's a shoe in. Pack your chastity belt, Gilmore – you're going to Harvard!"_

"Holy crap!" Colin exclaimed. He immediately dug into the pockets of his cargo pants, desperately searching for something. In an instant he had pulled out his cell phone, pressed a few buttons and waved it in Logan's face. "Oh thank god."

"What?" Finn asked.

"I was afraid the shock would wear off before I got the shot," Colin replied, handing the phone over to the Australian.

Finn took the phone and looked at the photo on the screen then towards Logan who was just now starting to come out of his daze. "Bloody brilliant, mate," he replied with a grin.

"What?" Logan asked.

"Blackmail photo," Finn replied simply, handing the phone back to Colin.

"So I'm guessing by this expression here," Colin said, leaning over the couch and waving the camera phone in his friend's face, "that you didn't know."

Logan knocked Colin's arm away and glowered. "Know what?" he asked.

"Oh don't play dumb with me Huntz; you are many things but dumb isn't one of them. You didn't know your precious Ace was quite so pure."

Logan looked over his shoulder, directing his glare at Colin. "Fine, I might have assumed she and Jess…well he doesn't exactly seem like the hold out type. But her…sex life," Logan chocked out. Saying those words in reference to Rory just seemed so crude. "Isn't really any of my business."

"I think this photo is evidence otherwise." Colin said, waving the phone at him again. He turned suddenly to Finn. "By the way, you owe me a hundred bucks."

"What the hell for?"

"The bet."

"You bet on her virginity?" Logan asked, completely aghast.

"God no, even we're not that sick and twisted," Colin assured him.

"We bet on whether you'd ever stop being so chicken shit, and make a move," Finn clarified.

"There's no way he's going to do anything about his little puppy crush now."

"I don't have a puppy crush."

"Fine—your deep and meaningful love," Colin clarified.

"I'm not in love with her," he insisted again. He sure as hell wasn't going to admit it to them—definitely not now. He'd never hear the end of it if he did.

"Well sure, it's easy to deny it now that you know you'll never get any." Finn replied calmly.

Logan turned around, a look of fury on his face. "Are you fucking kidding me? You really think that lowly of me? You really think I think that lowly of Rory? I like sex, yeah. I'm a twenty year old guy, but I would never—" He was too angry to even come up with the right words.

"So you're going to tell her how you feel then?" Colin asked.

"I don't _have_ feelings to tell her about, but if I did, I wouldn't dismiss them—or her—just like that because I didn't want to not get laid. That's sick man." Of course that was only half true. He had feelings—of course he had feelings. But Colin was partially right. He couldn't act on them—not now. Ever since her break up with Jess, ever since their almost kiss, he had thought about the right time and the right way to let her know how he felt. Did he ask her out on a date? Did he just walk up to her and kiss her? Did he just come straight out and say it? It was weird, worrying about these things. He'd never had to worry before. Normally girls just threw themselves at him and he responded. Every once in a blue moon he would hit on them and he'd get turned down—but one or two rejections never really mattered in the long run. But he couldn't screw things up with Rory. If he made a move and she rejected him, he'd be screwed. Their whole friendship would be in jeopardy.

Of course, none of that mattered anymore. He'd questioned before whether or not he could give Rory what she deserved and he'd decided that he couldn't make any guarantees but he'd do what ever he could to make that happen if she'd have him. Not now. There was no way he could risk it. This wasn't about him 'not getting any' as his friends had so 'eloquently' put it; it was about self control—not something Logan Huntzberger was generally well known for. Could he be that close to her and not be with her? What if got to be too much? What if he lost control? What if he hurt her? He wouldn't do it—he couldn't. Rory Gilmore was not officially, more than ever, off limits.


	14. Quite Contrary

**AN: I'm to lazy to make excuses for my lack of updates right now, so instead I'll just give you a new chapter and hope that's enough. Just a little note--the last time I wrote Tristan into a chapter, I got a couple comments that Tristan probably wouldn't still be so jerky in season 3 if he had stayed around, and I agree, but I like him jerky, and it works better with my story, so that's how I'm writing him. Anyway, I guess that's it for now, except for the traditional begging for reviews--so here it goes: I love reviews, please leave them :D**

* * *

"Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?" Tristan sing-songed, falling into step with her almost immediately as she walked through Chilton's front doors Monday morning. "Oh, that's right, it doesn't. You'd need someone to plant something there first. You know, I'd be more than happy to help you with that."

Rory sighed, this was just what she needed for her reputation—her virginity broadcasted on national television. "I'd be barren all the years of my life before I'd let you go there," she informed him matter-of-factly, trying not to let him get to her.

"Although, it's kind of nice to know my Mary's still a Mary. It's a rare finding among kids our age now-a-days."

Yep! Definitely, just what she needed to solidify her _Mary_ status. She was certain Tristan wouldn't be the only one calling her that now. "Well I'm glad you can find some reassurance in my lack of sluttiness," she bit back as she approached her locker and began spinning the dial.

"Very reassuring," he nodded enthusiastically. "It's good to know that I can still be the one to defile you."

Rory pulled a stack of books out of her locker and slammed it shut, turning to face her blonde shadow with a serious look on her face. "Tristan, you defile everything you touch—which is why you will never, ever, get to touch me. If three years of repeated rejections haven't taught you that by now, you're even slower than I thought."

"That hurts, Mary. Right here—" he replied, patting his chest over his heart. "I'm not slow, I'm just persistent, and I like to know that my persistence is not in vain."

"It _is_ in vain," she informed him matter-of-factly. "You're in vain. In fact, you're so vain you probably think this song is about you."

"What song?" Rory just shook her head in disgust.

"I have a class to get to Tristan—and so do you for that matter, although I'd be highly surprised if you knew what that class was," Rory said as she walked through the doorway of Ms. Bijon's first period French class. She was saved from any further torment by the ringing of the bell.

"See ya later, Mary," Tristan said, with a smirk as he continued on down the hall to where ever it was he was going.

Rory let out a long sigh of relief at his departure, but then she looked up and saw the mixed looks on the faces of her classmates; some pity, some humor, some annoying smirk's to match Tristan's. She was never going to live this down— Paris was going to die!

* * *

Rory walked into the Pub with Steph by her side. Normally Logan picked her up from school on Friday afternoons, but Steph has said something about his father threatening to cut him off if he didn't have an article in the next edition of the Yale Daily News, and the deadline for article submissions was…Rory looked down at her watch…now. So Steph had driven down to Chilton to get her instead, so that Logan could finish up and meet them there. 

Rory glanced around the Pub and noticed her three guy friends sitting around their usual table in the corner. She smiled as she walked towards them. It was a relief to get to hang out with people who didn't look at her like at her like she had a disease, which happened to be named virginity. In fact, Steph was the only one of them that even knew that little fact about her, and Rory was more than happy to keep it that way.

The two girls approached the table and the boys stood up to give Rory a hug. She hadn't seen them in a while, since she had canceled the previous week, for the public appearance from hell. She had talked to Steph a couple of times on the phone, and she had tried Logan a couple of times, but always seemed to get his voice mail. They were all there now though, and it was good to see them, even if it was a little awkward, considering her recent epiphany about her feelings for Logan. Rory wrapped her arms around each of her friend's necks, approaching Logan last. She couldn't help but feel, as she put her arms around him, that something was off. It seemed jilted, and uncomfortable. She assured herself that it was only her—she was nervous and confused—and sat down at the table with them.

"Good to see you, Love. We missed you last week," Finn greeted.

"Yeah, Reporter Girl, Friday afternoons at the Pub aren't the same without you anymore," Colin agreed.

"In fact, we didn't even go to the Pub last weeEEK!" Finn squealed the last part as he felt Logan give him a swift kick in the shin.

Rory glanced around the table suspiciously. "What's their deal?" she asked Steph. "They're even weirder than usual, if that's possible."

Steph shrugged her shoulders. "Beats me, I stopped trying to figure them out a long time ago."

"You know, you didn't have to change your plans around just because of little ol' me," Rory said, turning her attention back to the boys.

"Oh no, it wasn't like that," Logan said, speaking up for the first time. "We just figured we'd give Steph here a break from us, and have a guy's night."

"A guy's night?" Steph asked with raised eyebrows. "I do _not_ want to know what you do during one of these 'guys nights.'" Steph turned back to Rory. "I've been meaning to visit my sister and nephew for a while now, and I'm not as good at handling these three," she motioned to the boys, "on my own anymore, so I figured it was a good night to go. I have no idea what these fools were up to—and now I'm not so sure I want to know," Steph shot another look at the boys.

"Fine, I'll be the brave one," Rory remarked. "What exactly does one of these 'guy's nights' entail?"

The boys looked at one another, trying to hide the panic in their eyes. What did they tell her? The truth was certainly out of the question—that their guys night started with watching one of her best friends have an emotional break down and embarrass her on CSPAN, was followed by some relentless teasing of Logan, and then ended with Colin and Finn dragging Logan to a strip club to try and get his mind off the one girl he couldn't have, even if he wouldn't admit that he wanted her.

"Poker," Logan suddenly blurted out. "We played poker."

"Oh, well that's kind of boring," Rory admitted. "I was expecting something slightly more scandalous."

Finn looked at the girls mildly disappointed faces and suddenly blurted out, "Strip poker."

The girls looked at each other and began giggling madly.

"Well, that's definitely scandalous."

"Is there something you want to tell us about, boys?" Rory asked, in between fits of laughter.

Logan and Colin shot dirty looks Finn's way.

"As a matter of fact there is," Colin replied with a scowl on his face.

"Finn's a dumb ass," Logan finished, rolling his eyes.

All of a sudden the girls broke down into hysterics again. A few moments later, the laughter died down and Rory struggled to catch her breath.

Logan looked across the table at her—her cheeks were flushed, her chest rose and fell rapidly, and her eyes shone brightly. An image suddenly flashed in his mind—her looking just like that, only naked, as he rolled off of her after a heated round in the sack. Oh god—he pushed the thought out of his head. He was never going to see her like that. He wasn't going to get to be that guy. He considered the fact that no one else had ever seen her like that and he didn't know if that made it better, or worse. The thought of any other guy ever being that guy—especially Jess, made him sick to his stomach. Of course, if Jess _had_ gotten to be that guy, Logan probably wouldn't have to stay away.

Logan squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, then opened them again, as he pushed his seat away from the table. "I'm going to the bar."

Rory did a double take as Logan walked away from the table. "What's his deal today?"

"Oh, he probably just had a naughty thought about…"

"That blonde at the bar," Colin cut Finn off. "Just wanted to see if he could make it a reality."

Rory glanced up at the bar and wondered which of the several blondes was going to be the lucky girl. She swallowed the lump that suddenly formed in her throat. She knew how Logan was; she knew there would continue to be other girls, despite her feelings for him—after all, he didn't even know she _had_ feelings for him—but she had completely forgotten to factor in the fact that she might actually have to _watch_ him flirt with these other girls.

She quickly snapped her head away from the bar, not wanting to watch what was about to happen. She hated that she had been reduced to this—jealous of his many dates; hoping he would look at her like he looked at those other girls; actually wishing she could get in line. But that was the problem—the damn line. Logan was with a different girl all the time; they were always beautiful and he let them know it, and he could make a girl feel like she was the only one in the room—even when they were in a crowded Pub. But no matter how special he made them feel for a night, they weren't—special. At least as his friend, she knew she had that going for her; she knew she was special. Of course it didn't stop this crazy feeling in her that told her she wanted to be special in an entirely different way.

Steph watched the pained look in her friend's eyes as Colin mentioned the blonde—and she held back a smile—it was about time that girl admitted her feelings to herself. Steph then chanced a glance up at the bar, where Logan was effectively ignoring every blonde but the one pouring him his scotch—and Steph was pretty certain Logan wasn't interested in _him_. It looked like the days of subtle hinting were of the past—it was time for full fledged meddling to being.

"So Rory, you guys get off for Easter, right?"

Rory shook herself out of her Logan induced trance and looked up at her friend questioningly.

"Easter," Steph repeated. That fancy shmancy school of yours gives you time off, right?"

"Says the girl who attended several European boarding schools that are way fancier _and_ shmancier than Chilton."

"So not the point, Gilmore."

"Fine, yes, I get off for Easter."

"How long?" Stephanie inquired.

"A week."

"Perfect!" Steph said, grinning madly.

Rory looked at her friend warily. "What's perfect?"

"Well, it just so happens that the boys and me, along with some of our other friends were planning a little holiday getaway; isn't that right boys?" Steph smirked at Colin and Finn, who shot questioning glances at each other before simultaneously deciding Steph was on to something. They looked back across the table, grinning widely.

"Why yes, Steph, it is," they replied.

"And it just so happens, that you seem to be free at that time."

"Yeeeeah?" Rory stretched out the word. Steph couldn't possibly getting at what she thought she was getting at, could she?

"So?" Steph asked.

"So…what?"

"So, you should come with us, silly," Steph replied, as though it were obvious.

"I don't know Steph. I mean, it's Easter, I usually spend that with Mom. Besides, I don't even know where you're going."

"Well, Love," Finn broke in. "Let's just say poker won't be just for the guys. Nor will the black jack, or craps, or roulette…" Finn got a goofy look on his face just thinking about it.

_Gambling?_ Rory thought to herself. She wasn't old enough to go to a casino—neither were any of them for that matter, they were all twenty. And just where was this casino located? Foxwoods? Atlantic City? _Vegas!?_ This was preposterous. They couldn't just expect her to go away with them to some casino and gamble illegally. Didn't they know her at all?

"You guys are crazy! First off all, I'm not the kind of girl to just take off on some crazy vacation…nor am I the type of girl who gambles—even if I was old enough, which I'm not—"

"Oh, but you are, Love," Finn butted in.

"Unless I've gone temporarily insane, or someone changed the laws without telling me; you need to be 21 to go to a casino," Rory reminded them.

"In America, yes…" Finn agreed.

"In Monte-Carlo, no," Steph added with a grin.

"Monte-Carlo?" Rory asked with wide eyes?

"Monte-Carlo," Colin confirmed

"As in Monaco?"

"That would be the one," Colin nodded his head

"As in _Europe_"

"As in Earth!" Steph mocked. "Yes, Rory. _That_ Monte-Carlo."

"OK, when did you guys officially go insane?"

"Look, Ror, I know this isn't your usual thing…" Steph began.

"That's the understatement of the year if ever I heard one,' Rory confirmed.

"But that's the point," the blonde girl continued on. "You've got to break out of your shell, girl. That's why you love us; don't deny it. You love that we make you do crazy things."

"Yes, crazy things like going to bars and staying out till all hours of the night, not crazy like fleeing the country for a week of extravagant debauchery."

Logan approached the table, scotch in hand, just at that moment. He prayed to god, that she wasn't talking about what he thought she was talking about. A week in Monte-Carlo with Rory would be very _very _dangerous. If he thought it was hard to stay in control around her here, it would be down right painful when he was off in some exotic location, letting go of the few inhibitions he normally had. Then of course there was the fact that she was gorgeous—and at least here, she was only known by her association with them, so guys mostly stayed away. The thought of slick, European guys trying to butter her up, made his blood boil. He took a deep breath and tried to stay objective. He knew how persuasive Stephanie could be, but convincing Rory to do this was beyond even her abilities. Still, it couldn't hurt to give his imput as well.

"Yeah, Steph, this isn't Ace's thing."

Rory looked up at Logan, and felt a sudden pang of disappointment. Did he not want her to go? "Well, I mean, I guess it could be fun."

"Don't feel like you have to go, Ace. We don't want you to feel out of place or anything."

"Please, we wouldn't let you feel out of place, don't worry about it," Steph assured her.

Rory glanced at Logan again. A part of her was upset that he seemed to be so against her going, though he did have a point. She couldn't keep up with them. They were out partying all the time; not to mention that these people didn't settle for anything less than the best, and the best was awfully expensive. There's no way she could make this work, even if she wanted to. Besides, Lorelai would never go for it.

Rory glared at Logan, hating him for being right, even if he was _technically_ on her side. She didn't want him to be on her side. She wanted him to tell her that she should go with them; that their trip wouldn't be nearly as much fun without her. But, it looked like that wouldn't be happening. "No Steph, he has a point. I couldn't keep with you guys, I don't want to hold you back. Besides, I could never afford this."

"See, Steph, she's not interested."

"There is no way you would hold us back. And as for money, that's the last thing you should be worried about. We're taking Finn's private jet, so you don't have to worry about air fare, and we've already booked a block of rooms at the hotel, all paid for up front. And you don't have to gamble. The guys gamble enough for all of us. They're high rollers which gets us some pretty nifty perks—free meals, free massages at the spa. Have you ever had a massage, Rory—it's heaven, and let me tell you, the last masseur I had there was a friggin' Adonis. In fact, there's just something about a masseur—maybe it's the big strong hands, but they are all seriously swoon worthy." Steph turned to Logan and she could practically see the steam coming out of his ears at the thought of some built masseur rubbing a naked Rory down with scented oils. She glared at him, practically daring Logan to put up an argument. In fact, she hoped he would put up an argument—she had a feeling that would be the key to Rory's down fall.

"I don't think Rory's interested in having some overly-buff guy get all touchy-feely with her," Logan practically growled, despite his efforts to remain calm.

"There are other things to do there too," Colin added, earning him a scowl from Logan.

"Like hot red heads," Finn interjected with a smile.

The entire table rolled their eyes.

"The Prince's Palace and State Apartments, the Jardin Exotique, and tons of other museums and stuff," Colin finished.

"Well that kind of sounds fun," Rory replied with a wistful look in her eyes. "But I don't know. It's Easter and all and I'd have to talk it over with Mom—"

"Yeah, Lorelai would never go for it," Logan replied, relief written all over his face at that thought.

"Well it's not like I need her _permission_," Rory replied defensively. She wasn't sure what came over her. Of course she needed Lorelai's permission—and Lorelai would _never_ go for it.

"Come on Ace, it's good that you're mother actually cares what you do."

"Yeah, she cares, but she doesn't get to decide. I'm not a little kid any more, you know."

"I know that," he insisted.

"No, I don't think you do. You think I'm like some little kid sister that you've taken under your wing. I'm not. I'm a big girl; I can make my own decisions. I don't need my _mommy_ to approve of every thing I do."

Steph smiled widely. This had gone _perfectly!_ Everyone had reacted just like she'd planned. Man, she was good at this. "So then you'll come with us?"

"You know, I think I will," Rory replied matter-of-factly.

"Come on Rory, think about this, are you sure it's a good idea."

"I don't _need_ to think about it, Logan. I've made up my mind. I'm going with you, end of story," she leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest defiantly, but inside she was panicking. What the hell had she just agreed to? She couldn't go away with them! How the heck was she going to tell her mom? Lorelai would be furious? But she couldn't back out now. If she did, Logan would never stop seeing her as just some little momma's girl. Oh god, she was screwed.

* * *

"You're a responsible driver, right Mom?" Rory asked, on the way home from Friday night dinner, that evening.

"Umm, not really. See, no hands!" Lorelai took both her hands off the wheel and held them up in the air, before placing them back where they belonged. "I also like to run around the car and change places at traffic lights, and have even played the occasional game of chicken."

"Mom, be serious."

"I am—well OK, I've never played chicken, but I have done the ring around the rosy thing a few times."

"But right now, you would, you know—keep your eyes on the road, and not endanger our lives for any reason."

"Well, I wasn't planning on dying in a fiery car crash tonight. What's this all about, hun?" Lorelai, asked, chancing a quick glance at her daughter.

"Well, I have something to tell you, but I don't want you to freak out while operating a motor vehicle."

"Fine, I promise not to freak out while operating a motor vehicle. Now tell Mommy what's going on."

"Well, Steph and the guys were talking about taking a trip over Easter."

"That sounds like fun," Lorelai responded, not quite sure where the part she might freak out about would fit in. Those kids were always taking trips—all part and parcel of the society kid life style.

"I kind of agreed to go with them."

OK, freaking out slightly more, but Lorelai kept her eyes on the road ahead. It was probably nothing. "Go with them where?" she asked nervously.

" Monaco" Rory replied, disguising the word amidst a sneeze.

"I'm sorry, I must be delusional, I thought for a minute there you said you were going to Monaco for Easter."

"I did," Rory admitted sheepishly. The next thing she knew, Lorelai was pulling the car over to the side of the road and turning off the engine. "What are you doing."

"Well, I promised not to freak out while operating a motor vehicle," Lorelai replied. "so now, the car is stopped—give it to me again."

Rory just stared at her mother for a moment. "Come on, out with it," Lorelai commanded.

"I'm going to Monaco for Easter?" Rory asked, more than said.

"You're _WHAT?!?"_ Lorelai screeched.

"Mom, please, calm down."

"Oh, I'm calm. I'm calm because you are _not_ flying half way across the world to spend Easter with a bunch of hedonists."

"They're not hedonists, Mom."

"Of course not, because I'm sure they're headed there for the cultural experience and _not_ the famous Monte-Carlo casinos. Their lips won't touch a drop of alcohol, and the mere thought of sex won't even cross their minds."

"Mom, be reasonable."

"Reasonable? I think I'm being pretty damn reasonable, Rory. This is the definition of a reasonable motherly reaction. You're the one who's not being reasonable. This isn't you, Rory," Lorelai ranted.

"I know," Rory sighed. "That's why I want to go."

"Umm, hi, crazy alien person, I'd like to speak with my daughter, please," Lorelai replied, waving her finger at Rory manically.

"Mom, listen, I understand that you're upset."

"Upset doesn't even begin to cover it Rory."

"I know we usually spend Easter together."

"Well, I know that it's a novel concept—spending the holidays with your family and all," Lorelai snapped.

"And I know that we have the whole European back-packing adventure planned for this summer, but this isn't going to take away from that."

"I'm supposed to be the one who takes you out of the country the first time, Rory; not a bunch of spoiled society kids."

"Are we back to this? I thought you were over their background. They're good people, Mom."

Lorelai sighed. "I know they are, but that doesn't change what this is. It's all extravagant and over the top. It's all fancy and superfluous and…"

"And what, Mom?"

"And you're too comfortable with it all already. You're not supposed to fit in that world like this. You're supposed to be down to earth, small town, Stars Hollow girl with journalistic aspirations, and dreams of going to Harvard."

"I'm still small town Stars Hollow girl with journalistic aspirations—"

"And Harvard? It's losing Rory. I see the pro-con lists. Harvard is losing, Yale is winning and a part of me is getting used to that fact. If Yale is the best place for you, than that's where you belong—but this is too much. This is what I was afraid of from the beginning."

"So maybe I'm a little more comfortable in Grandma and Grandpa's world that you were, but I'm also comfortable with the simple things in life. I like how Steph and the others make me feel—like it's OK to let loose and have fun, but I don't take it for granted. I know I have to work hard and earn it. You're my best friend, Mom, and everything you taught me, it's a part of me—a permanent part."

"So what? I'm just supposed to accept that I did a good job raising you, and trust you enough to let you run off to Europe without me like you're some kind of adult?"

"That's pretty much the jist of it."

"I don't like this."

"I'm sorry."

"And if I told you no?" Lorelai pondered.

"I'd do exactly what you'd expect me to do—I'd play the good little girl and stay behind."

"I don't like this."

"So you've said."

"I don't like it, but you're 18, and I can't really stop you—I mean, apparently I could, but that's not my job any more."

"So?"

"So, it's up to you. You're an adult Rory—you get to make your own decisions now."

Rory smiled. "Thanks, Mom. You're the best."


	15. She Was Afraid to Come Out in the Open

**AN: Woohoo! I have a working computer again :)**

* * *

"Pyjamas?" Lorelai read off of her daughter's list. Rory picked up the meticulously folded flannel night-ware off the bed next to her and placed it in the suitcase.

"Check," she confirmed.

Lorelai placed a tick mark in the appropriate check box and moved on down the list. "Two pairs of jeans…" She looked up at her daughter disapprovingly. "Two? Is that how I raised you to pack?"

Rory rolled her eyes at her mother. "Jeans can be worn more than once, and if something happens, I'm sure I can get the hotel to clean them for me."

"Yes, but there are different jeans for different occasions. You have your looser fitting, lighter wash jeans for day; then there are the dark, straight-legged, tailored jeans for hanging out in the casino with the high rollers; and of course there are the too tight, low-riding, slutty boot cuts for working it on the dance floor and making all the European boys drool," Lorelai explained. "That's three pairs of jeans right there."

"I don't own too tight, low-riding, slutty, boot cuts."

Lorelai gasped dramatically. "What do you wear to the bars?"

"Nothing," Rory replied frustratedly.

A wide grin spread across Lorelai's face. "Now _that's_ the daughter I raised.

Rory just sighed, "Fine, I'll make it three."

Her mother stared at her pointedly for a moment.

"Four?" Rory tried again.

"Four it is," the older woman smiled proudly. "Now, moving on…"

The mother and daughter combo continued packing Rory's suitcase until they had gone through the entire list, with Lorelai making occasional comments about Rory's skimpy packing style and convincing her to add more. When Lorelai had read off the last entry, she flipped back through the rest of the list, looking at it with a furrowed brow. "You forgot a bathing suit," she finally said.

"The weather there is like it is here, what do I need a bathing suit for?" Rory asked, thinking of the 50 degree temperatures outside.

"You _always_ need a bathing suit. There could be a hot tub, or an indoor pool—you said Stephanie mentioned a spa—you'll need a bathing suit for the spa," Lorelai pointed out.

"I need bathing suit for the spa?" Rory asked. She'd never been any place like that before; she wasn't really sure how it worked.

"Well, no actually, you don't need a bathing suit for the spa, most people just go naked."

"Naked?" Rory asked wide eyed. There was no way she was getting naked around other people.

"But bathing suits are acceptable as well," Lorelai replied with a smirk.

"Fine,' Rory huffed, standing up and walking over to her dresser to grab her swim suit. She returned to the suitcase and placed the modest one-piece inside.

Lorelai looked at her daughter with raised brows. "Seriously?" she asked.

Rory sighed, "What's wrong now?"

"If nuns went to the beach,_ that's_ what they would wear with their habits. You can't bring that, Rory."

"It's the only bathing suit I have."

"I am deeply ashamed," Lorelai declared, burying her face in her hands in an over dramatic gesture.

"You bought it for me," Rory reminded her

"Yes, _before_ you had the boobs to hold up a bikini top."

"Well it's all I have, so it will just have to do," Rory said, effectively putting an end to the conversation.

"Fine, let's get these bags closed," Lorelai moved on, trying to hide the twinkle of mischievousness in her eyes.

Rory stood up off the bed she was sitting on and flipped the top of her suitcase down, quickly noticing the large gap between the two sides of the zipper. She pressed down on it, smooshing the clothing within, but still the suitcase would not close all the way.

"Try sitting on it," Lorelai suggested. Rory did while Lorelai attempted to zip it closed with no success. Rory sighed and looked over at the other suitcase, knowing that that one was just as full. "Well," Lorelai shrugged, "looks like you're going to need another bag."

"But I already have two. I can't take that much luggage with me, I'm going on a plane. I knew I shouldn't have let you talk me into all those shoes."

"Rory," Lorelai gasped. "Really, the shoes are the most essential items, you can't not bring them. Besides, I don't think the usual baggage limit holds on your friend's fancy-shmancy private jet."

Rory sighed in defeat, knowing there was nothing she wanted to leave behind—besides, she would need a little extra room for souvenirs as well. "I guess."

"Good, I'll go get another bag from the storage closet," Lorelai agreed, standing up and walking towards the door of Rory's room.

"Mom…" Rory stopped her.

"Yeah," she asked, turning around to face her daughter.

"Thanks."

"For what?" Lorelai asked, confused.

"For being so great about this. I know you're not thrilled with me going on this trip."

"Rory," Lorelai sighed. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't concerned—but I'm your Mom, I'm always going to be concerned. You're adult enough to make this decision on your own, and if you're going to go, then at the very least you should have a good time."

"I will, I promise," Rory smiled.

"But not too good of a time, because we didn't pack any condoms," Lorelai winked.

"Mom!" Rory yelled.

"Oh, I wouldn't be too worried about it, though—I'm sure Logan will be prepared."

"Mother," Rory said, this time in a warning town. Rory had hoped her mother's suggestive comments about her and Logan would die down after a while, but it had been months and Lorelai was just as adamant as ever.

"Now that hurts," Lorelai replied in mock indignity, placing her hand over her chest. "What have I ever done to deserve something so cruel?"

"Do you really want to me to answer that?"

Lorelai pouted, crossing her arms over her chest petulantly. "Fine, I'll behave."

"Good, now about that third suitcase…" Rory replied with a smile on her face as she watched her mother slip out of the room.

"I'm going, I'm going."

* * *

Rory followed the bellhop into the hotel room behind Stephanie. Logan, Colin and Finn had the adjoining room next door. The rest of the group they had come with were across the hall—Rosemary, Juliet and Beth in one room and Seth and Robert in the other.

Rory stopped short as she entered the room, taking in her extravagant surroundings—the place was huge, but something was missing. "Where are the beds?"

Stephanie laughed. "In the bedrooms." She pointed to a couple of doors off to the left.

"We have our own rooms?"

"That would be the point of a suite." Steph responded before turning back to the man with the luggage. "You can put those bags…" she pointed out Rory's three bags, "in the first room, and the rest can go in the other room. The bellhop went about his business and Stephanie turned to Rory once again. "Now, I think it's time to get this vacation started, and to effectively let loose and have fun, you need to be relaxed so…" she plopped down on the couch and picked up the phone and dialed a few numbers.

"What are you doing?" Rory asked.

Stephanie just held up a finger, motioning for Rory to wait. "Hi, yes, this is Stephanie Vanderbuilt in room 1433...I'd like to schedule a couple of massages…"

That girl wasted no time, Rory noted. There was a brief pause in the conversation, as Rory assumed the concierge transferred Stephanie to the right line. At that moment the bellhop returned from putting the luggage in the rooms.

"Will there be anything else ladies?"

Rory tensed up, not sure what the proper procedure was. Stephanie held her hand in front of the phone before speaking. "No, that will be all, thank you."

"Very well…"

Rory leaned in to whisper to Steph as the man walked towards the door. "Are we supposed to, you know…tip him?"

"It's been taken care of," the blonde girl assured her with a wave of her hand. "Hi, yes, I'm here," Stephanie spoke into the phone once more. "Yes, two of us…an hour long…what do you recommend?...That sounds _amazing_…yes, that's the one we want…uhhuh…as soon as possible…that would be perfect…thanks." Steph began to hang up the phone but stopped short. "Oh wait," she yelled into the phone. "Yes…I almost forgot, we want masseu_ers_," she added, placing emphasis on the masculanization of the word. "The hottest ones you've got," she added with a smirk, before hanging up for real.

"Soooo…" Rory started, looking at Steph uncomfortably.

Stephanie rolled her eyes at her friend. "You have soooo got to relax. They should be sending a couple of Greek Gods up here in about thirty minutes to help you with that. Now go unpack and get ready."

"I don't know Steph… I mean, this is all really nice but it's not…"

"If you finish that sentence I will be forced to tie you to a chair and make you watch Finn's Passion of the Christ—_and_ I'll make sure it's during one of his naked phases."

"Oh God," Rory gulped. "Anything but that."

Steph laughed. "Now seriously Rory, stop worrying and go change."

The brunette reluctantly agreed and the two girls each disappeared into their respective rooms.

* * *

Rory grabbed a suitcase off of the rack it had been placed on and set it on the bed before collapsing next to it. She really hoped this trip hadn't been a bad idea—she was just so far out of her comfort zone. She wanted to relax and have fun but she couldn't stop feeling guilty about that fact that she had all this amazing stuff just handed to her. It wasn't right that she didn't have to contribute. She knew that none of the others cared—but it didn't stop her from feeling uncomfortable with it.

She took a deep breath and tried to relax. There was nothing she could do about it anymore; she was there—she should at least try and get in the spirit of things. Rory sat back up and unzipped her suitcase. As soon as she flipped the top open she let out a groan and silently cursed her mother. She should have known Lorelai wouldn't give in so easy on the bathing suit front—Lorelai would continue to mock her for her prudish bathing suit for ages; and this was true Lorelai style—it wasn't enough to give her just any old bikini—no she had to get her _this_ bikini.

Rory picked up the suit Lorelai hand snuck into the baggage and held it up—there was no way she was ever putting that on. Rory set the suit down and began digging through her luggage for her less revealing swim ware. As Rory got to the bottom of the suitcase she began to panic. She quickly shut the top of the bag and ran to her others, digging through the contents.

"Shit!" she cursed out loud, looking at the mess she'd created all over the floor. Lorelai hadn't just put a new bathing suit _in_ her bag—she'd taken the old one out.

Rory just stared at the skimpy two-piece sitting on her bed for a moment before moving to pick up the mess she'd made. Fifteen minutes later she was unpacked and there was no more procrastinating to be done. She had nothing else to wear. Her mind briefly flitted back to the comment that Lorelai had made the previous night about most people wearing nothing. She chuckled slightly—she didn't know if Lorelai was serious about that but Rory might as well be wearing nothing if she put that bikini on. Not that she had much choice. She let out a deep sigh and slipped out of her clothes and into the suit.

Closing her eyes, she stepped in front of the mirror and took a deep breath before opening them and staring at her reflection. She couldn't let some strange men see her in this—she was alone in her room and she was blushing. She sighed deeply—maybe Steph would have some advice to make this less awkward. She briefly considered throwing something on to cover up, but she didn't know what to wear, and besides, she'd have to let Steph see the suit if she wanted her advice. She was certain she would be mocked for eternity for this.

Rory opened the door to the common room and stepped outside—stopping short just a few steps out. She held her breath as she noticed Logan just about to open the adjoining doors between her room and his. He was facing away from her and she prayed that he would make it back into his own room before he had a chance to notice her presence, but she had no such luck—he must of heard her.

Logan was heading back to his own room to deliver the shirt Colin had left at Stephanie's. Apparently he just had to wear _that_ shirt that night and he'd forgotten that Steph had it until just before he was about to slip into the shower, so he had asked Logan to get it for him.

Just as Logan was turning the knob on the door he heard something. He spun around and his eyes immediately went wide when they landed on Rory.

"Umm…Hi," she waved timidly, a deep blush flaming on her cheeks.

He tried to find words as his gaze traveled up and down her minimally covered body. He felt himself stiffen and he prayed that Rory couldn't see his reaction from where he was standing. He had to think of something to say—and quick. "Nice suit—did you wear it for the first time today?" he smirked.

Rory crossed her arms over her body nervously, but her words did not convey the meekness she felt. "What are you doing here?"

Logan raised the shirt he held in his hands. "Colin left it at Steph's—asked me to grab it for him," he replied innocently.

"Well, mission accomplished—you can go now."

"I don't know," he countered. I kind of like your room. The couch looks mighty comfy—mind if it sit?" he smirked as he motioned to the sofa, forgetting the initial awkwardness—he was enjoying this way too much.

"Yes!"

"You're testy…"

"Logan!" she yelled at him.

" What? I'm just saying…"

"What are you just saying?" she snapped.

"It's just that it's a bit…itsy-bitsier than I expected of you—" he replied, once again referring to the bikini. "Not that I'm complaining." He raised an eyebrow at her.

"One more quote and swear to God—"

His smirk grew even bigger. "It…was…an…" he drew the words out—the slight hint of a tune running through them.

"Logan…" she warned.

"Fine, fine." He held his hands up in defeat, before slowly backing out of the room, the smile never leaving his face.

Once he was out of sight, Rory fell back against the wall, trying to collect herself. She brought her hands to her cheeks and felt the heat radiating off of her—she could only imagine how red she was.

She took a few deep breaths before finally walking the rest of the way to Stephanie's room.

"Come in," Stephanie called in response to Rory's knock. Rory entered the room and spoke before Stephanie had a chance to say anything. "Not a word."

Stephanie looked at her friend and tried to contain her grin. Man, she hoped Rory and Logan had crossed paths in the common room. "I wasn't going to say as thing," Stephanie giggled, before promptly beginning to hum under her breath.

"Stephanie!"

"I'm sorry, I just never imagined _that_ as your style."

"It's _not_," she insisted. "I had a nice _normal_ suit and my mother went behind my back and switched them on me."

"You're mother did that?" Rory nodded in response. "God, I love your mother. I'm taking her and claiming her as my own."

"This isn't funny," Rory insisted.

"Of course it's not."

"It's humiliating. And Logan…." Stephanie had to practically bite her tongue from squealing in glee. Logan _had_ seen her. "…Logan is going to mock me forever. He very nearly broke out in song."

"Trust me, Rory. Logan has no complaints about what he saw."

"God, I look like an idiot."

"You look _hot!"_

"Yeah? Then why does everyone keep making fun of me?"

"It's just unexpected, that's all," Stephanie assured her. "But you look amazing. Here…" Stephanie guided her to the mirror. Rory took another good look at herself, clad in the little yellow bikini with the baby blue dots and trim and pouted. She still felt ridiculous.

"The yellow polka dot bikini is a classic. There are men all over the word currently having fantasies that look freakishly like you do at this very moment."

Rory turned and glared at Steph. "That doesn't make me feel any better."

The blonde girl laughed. "No, I don't suppose it does. The point is, you have nothing to be embarrassed about."

"Two strange men are going to be here in a few minutes—"

"You can cover up with your robe until they get here. They'll set up and then step out of the room while you lie down on the table and cover up with the sheet. Don't worry about it Rory."

Rory just continued to pout. "Listen, if you're that uncomfortable with it, I'll call and cancel the massages, but I _really_ think if you just relax you'll really enjoy it."

"No, it's fine," Rory relented.

"Yes! You're going to love it, I promise you Rory. Besides, if you're still worried about it, I'll be a good distraction—I go sans swim suit completely," Steph wiggled her eyebrows. Apparently Lorelai was serious about that after all.

* * *

And know would be the appropriate time to leave me a review and let me know what you thought--good, bad, indifferent, in gibberish--I just like reviews :) 


	16. An Ace for an Ace

**AN: It's amazing what 7+ years of disuse can do to one's extremely rudimentary knowledge of the French language, so please excuse me if you speak French and are appalled by the way I butchered such a beautiful language. Other than that--umm, enojy and review please. :)**

* * *

Rory took one last look in the mirror, smoothing her skirt down and tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. She had to admit, Steph had been right—once she'd let herself, she had enjoyed her massage and she was left feeling lighter and slightly rejuvenated. Although one thing her massage hadn't cured, was her hunger; time zones were bad for her sleep cycles, and her feeding cycles. Luckily, it was time for dinner. She headed out to the common room to meet the others.

"Hey guys, I'm staved. Ready to go?" she asked the group. She looked around the room curiously—someone was missing. "Where's Finn?" she asked.

"Finn appears to be MIA," Stephanie revealed.

"I think he went off in pursuit of the hot, Irish red head in the room down the hall," Colin added.

"So it's just the four of us for dinner?" she asked.

Steph chuckled nervously. "Yeah…about dinner…" she began.

"What about dinner?" Rory asked, furrowing her brow.

"Yeah, Steph, what about dinner?" Logan asked, a tinge of annoyance to his voice. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Go on, tell her."

The blonde girl shot him a look of death before turning back to Rory. "So there's this thing that happens here once a year—the Monaco Grand Prix…"

Rory raised her eyebrows. "Grand Prix—isn't that like…cars?" she asked warily.

Steph scoffed. "It's only like—part of the triple crown of car racing."

"You like…car racing?"

"Duh."

Rory sighed as she took note of another nauseating stomach contraction. "Well, if you guys _really_ want to watch a car race tonight, I guess I can deal—but I really have to eat _something_ first, and I must be allowed to mock."

"Oh, no, the race is tomorrow," Steph quickly corrected.

"So then what's the matter with dinner?"

"Well, see tonight there's a car _show_ where you can see the cars they're racing, meet the drivers. It's really exclusive and Colin managed to get us tickets—" Steph turned to smile at her pseudo boyfriend.

Rory tried not to roll her eyes. She could count on one hand the number of things she wanted to do less than go to a car show—living the rest of her life without coffee, among them. But then again, who was she to complain? It was their vacation, she was mostly just along for the ride—a free ride at that. "Fine," she agreed, less than half heartedly. "If that's what you guys want to do, then I'm in."

"Well…see…umm—the thing is…" Stephanie trailed off, but then picked up again at the impatient look in Rory's eyes. "It's just that, when I said Colin got us tickets—I meant he got him and me tickets," she finished. "Just the two of us."

"Just the two of you?" Rory asked.

Stephanie nodded uneasily.

"So you're just going to abandon me in a foreign country?" Rory asked, mouth agape from shock. Steph had assured her she wouldn't let Rory feel out of place or left out and here she was, running off to some stupid car thing with Colin.

"No! Of course not.," Steph quickly assured her. "You'll be with Logan." She turned to her blond friend. "Right, Logan?" she asked pointedly.

Logan glared at her heatedly. "Not all of us ditch out friends just because the smell of car leather and the thought of driving a stick makes us horny."

"Well I certainly hope the thought of driving a stick doesn't make you horny," Colin muttered. "Now the thought of someone else driving _your_ stick—that's a different story."

Logan turned his glare to Colin. "Don't you have an elsewhere to be?"

"We're going, we're going," Colin stated, holding his hands in front of him and taking a few steps back from the hostility.

"And we called the restaurant and changed the reservations, so you don't have worry about that—" Rory was almost certain she saw a fleeting glimpse of something in Steph's eyes as she said this. She looked from blonde to blond and fought the urge to roll her eyes. She knew what Steph was trying to do—this was not the spur of the moment change in plans her friend wanted her to think it was. Still, what was she to do about it?

Rory harrumphed, and crossed her arms over her chest to note her displeasure. "How very thoughtful of you," she replied sarcastically.

"We'll make it up to you, I swear," Steph promised. "Besides, you and Logan will have a great time. You won't even miss us."

"I'm sure," Rory grumbled, rolling her eyes. This was typical Stephanie.

"OK, well we should get going so, uh…" Steph looked from Rory to Logan with a big smile on her face. "Have fun," she said with a little too much pep.

Rory watched as her friends headed out of the room, shutting the door behind them. Stephanie was going to pay for this.

* * *

"I think we've been set up." Logan said as the maitre d' sat them at a cozy table for two in a secluded corner of the restaurant and poured them some expensive champagne.

"You're just figuring that out now?" Rory questioned, looking at the single red rose laid across her place setting. She tried to sound annoyed—she was annoyed—Steph had no right to meddle in their lives like this. But then why couldn't she control the little flip flop of her heart as he smirked at her from across the table? Why wouldn't her palms stop sweating? Why couldn't she stop smiling? Stupid Steph! That's all this was—Steph's doing. Logan was just as much an innocent pawn in this as she herself was. He didn't plan this—it wasn't a date. He was probably counting the minutes until dinner was over and he could ditch her for some European bimbo.

"I had some suspicions," he confirmed. Hell, he'd known since Rory had first been conned into the trip that his friends had something up their sleeves. It was typical of them after all—butting into each others lives was what they did best, especially Steph. He was mad at them though—he'd told them time and time again that he didn't have feelings for Rory. It was a lie of course, and they knew it, but that was besides the point. Nothing could happen between him and her—_that_ was the point. Still, looking up at her amused face as she lightly fingered her flower—he felt happy, and not his usual getting drunk, getting ass, having fun kind of 'happy'; this was more…content. Just being with her put him at ease. Of course that was what worried him; he couldn't afford to let his guard down or he'd wind up doing something he regretted.

"Salut! Je suis vous server ce soir. Vous avez choisi?" Logan looked up at the waiter, then back at Rory who was staring at her menu with a confused look on her face.

"Un moment, sil vous plait," he replied.

"Oui, monsieur." The waiter backed away from the table, leaving Logan and Rory alone.

"Madamoiselle Bijon would not be pleased with my menu reading abilities," Rory remarked as she continued to stare blankly at the menu in front of her.

Logan laughed. "It's a little different in the classroom than it is in the real world. It's OK," he assured her. "Why don't I just order for both of us?" he suggested.

"I don't know," she raised her eyebrows at him. "How do I know I can trust you? You could wind up ordering me pickled snail eggs in a creamy holindaise sauce or something equally disgusting. I would be forced to shun you forever if such a travesty were to occur. Do you think you can handle the pressure?"

"Jeez, Ace. Way to make a guy nervous. Alas, I think I'll take my chances. What do I get if I order right?"

"Umm, my pretty, pretty smile?" she replied, flashing him a glimpse of said smile.

"Well, in that case…" he trailed off, perusing the menu for a few moments before beckoning the server back.

"Monsiuer, mademoiselle," the waiter greeted. "Que voudriez-vous?"

"Pour l'entrée, nous voudraient le soufflé a fromage."

"Bon choix, monsieur."

"Merci. Et pour le plat principal, nous voudriant le boeuf bourguignon et le coq au vin. Et le soufflé au chocolat pour dessert, sil vous plait."

"Oui monsieur." He bowed slightly and backed away from the table.

"I'm going to like this, right?" Rory questioned. Fancy food really wasn't her thing.

"Well, it's not burgers and onion rings from Luke's but it's not pickled snail eggs in a creamy holindaise sauce either," he assured her.

"Mmm, onion rings," Rory moaned. "Luke makes the best onion rings. It's strange really—I mean, it's an onion and Gilmore Girls do _not_ eat onions—unless of course they're battered and fried in ring format. Really, if you think about it, it should be quite appalling, deep fried onions—seriously. Deep frying in general is a disgusting thought, and yet it produces some of the yummiest foods—fries, mozzarella sticks, dougnuts, chicken fritters—and what exactly is a fritter anyway? Do chickens even have fritters? I mean, they don't have fingers, or nuggets either I guess. Anyhow, as big a fan of the deep friend food group as I am, I have to say, the thought of a deep fried Snickers bar is quite repulsive. Really, a Snickers is classic just the way it is—why would they ruin it like that?" Rory looked up at Logan to see him leaning back in his seat and grinning at her. "What?"

"You're cute when you ramble."

Rory blushed furiously, quickly picking up the wine menu and opening it, just so she'd have something to hide her flaming red cheeks behind.

Logan chuckled. "See anything you like?"

"Well, the...uh...'99 Bordeauz looks good," she offered lamely.

"I'm sure it does," he placated, gently taking the menu from her hands and setting it off to the side. He smiled at the flustered look on her face as she cast her gaze down towards the table, then looked back up again, this time with a serious look on her face.

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" he tilted his head and narrowed his eyes in confusion. "For what?" What could she possibly have to be sorry for?

"That you got stuck babysitting me tonight. After dinner I can just head back to the room and you can go off and do your thing."

Logan rolled his eyes. She had to be kidding. "We didn't want you to come on this trip so you could go hide in the room all night, Ace."

"You didn't want me to come on this trip at all," she reminded him.

He sighed. "Not because I didn't want you here," he insisted. "Because I knew you'd feel like this…" And because he knew he'd feel the way he had been all night—like he wanted to say 'to hell' with propriety and just kiss her senseless. Why the hell did she have to have those damn pouty lips, anyhow? This was exactly why he didn't want her to come; but now that she was there, he just wanted to keep her by his side.

"Yeah but you could be doing something much more fun than sitting here with me right now. You could be having dinner with some hot Swedish bikini model or something."

He couldn't help but laugh at that. "Well, you may not be Swedish, but I must say, after seeing you in that itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny yellow polka dot bikini earlier, you could definitely fit the rest of the description."

"Logan," she rolled her eyes.

"Besides, you're much better dinner company—my French may be pretty decent, but my Swedish is severely lacking and I bet most Swedish bikini models don't eat much. No conversation, no food—what kind of dinner would it be?"

"You know what I mean, Logan."

"Yeah, I do," he agreed. "And you're wrong. I came here to kick back and relax with my friends—that includes you, Ace. I want to spend time with you. I'm not going to let you lock yourself in your room so you don't get in our way. We want you in our way."

Rory sighed reluctantly. "Fine, but you get to pick what we do tonight."

Logan smirked at her. "Only if you get to pick tomorrow."

* * *

Why, oh why, had she told him to pick the evening's activity? One moment of weakness and insecurity and now as a result she was being pulled across a smoky casino where a bunch of drunk people were playing games she didn't understand and couldn't afford. What was she supposed to do? Sit around and play Fanny Brice to Logan's Nicky Arnstein? And yet she followed him willingly, and without complaint. This was so not like her, yet she couldn't seem to help herself; every time he'd smile at her, all her defenses would crumble.

"Sit," Logan pulled a seat out at a table for Rory.

"Oh, no, Logan, I can't play," she insisted, looking at the sign on the side of the table that listed the minimum bet. "A Euro is worth more than a dollar, right?" she furrowed her brow at the numbers before her. €1000. She really hoped she was wrong about the whole exchange rate thing.

"Don't worry about it, Ace. Just take a seat," he insisted, guiding her to the chair before sitting next to her and placing a very large bill on the table in front of him. The dealer took it, replacing it with a big stack of chips.

"What are you doing?" she asked, wide eyed, as Logan placed a few of the chips not only in front of him, but in front of her as well.

"Playing two hands," he shrugged.

"All bets down," the dealer called.

Before Rory could protest, cards were swiftly and seamlessly placed in front of her.

"What do you think? Should I hit or stay?" Logan asked her, as the dealer dealt more cards to the man on the far right.

"Do I look like I know how to play this game?" she growled at him.

"You ever watch The Price is Right?" he enquired, seemingly randomly.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Who ever comes closest to the price of the dining room set without going over, wins."

"Huh?"

"You have to get as close to 21 without going over as possible," he clarified. "If you're closer than the dealer, or the dealer busts and you don't, you win the hand."

Rory looked down at the King of hearts and Queen of spades in front of her. "So what do you do with these?" she asked, of the numberless cards.

"Face cards are worth ten."

Rory looked down at the cards again. "You've got twenty. Why would you hit that unless he's got twenty-one?"

Logan shrugged. "Hmm, I guess you're right."

"You're not going to con me into gambling with your money, Logan," Rory warned, obviously clued in to what he was trying to do.

"Of course not," he insisted. "I'm just looking for a little imput."

"You don't need my imput—you know what you're doing and I don't."

"Well then I'll teach you," he suggested. "Then you can tell me what you would do if it were up to you, and I can tell you if it's the right move or not. I make all the final decisions, I promise. I won't let you lose all my money. Only I can do that."

Rory sighed her reluctant acceptance. At least it would give her something to do. "Fine."

"Good, now tell the dealer we're going to stay."

"Me?" she asked, pointing at herself.

"Yes you."

She rolled her eyes and turned to the dealer. "Umm, no more, thanks."

Logan laughed lightly from the seat next to her. "It's 'stay', Ace. And you have to make the hand motion."

"Hand motion?" she asked, turning to look at him like he was crazy.

"Yeah, like this…" He held his hand up parallel to the table and cut it through the air twice. "Go on," he nodded his head towards the dealer, indicating she should copy his motion.

She grunted in annoyance, but did as he said. The dealer acknowledged her decision and moved on to Logan. They played a few more hands as Logan continued to explain the intricacies of the game to her.

"Well will you look at that," Logan chuckled, as another hand was dealt to them. "An Ace for an Ace." He smirked at the Ace of diamonds and the 4 of spades laying in front of Rory.

Rory looked down. "Are Aces worth ten too?" she inquired, ignoring Logan's comment.

His smirk faded into a genuine smile as his eyes caught hers. "No," he shook his head, slightly, but left his eyes locked onto hers. "Aces are special"

They both stared for a few moments until a shrill "Awww," broke their trance.

They both jerked their heads around to look at the fifty-something woman sitting to Rory's right.

"I'm sorry, you two just make such an adorable couple."

"Oh, we're not…"

"That adorable," Logan interrupted Rory. He wasn't sure what possessed him to do it. So what if people knew they weren't actually a couple? They were friends, it's not like it was some shameful secret. Still, he couldn't help but throw his arm over her shoulder and squeeze her too him. "She's a little modest. And she just hates public displays of affection. Isn't that right—honey?" he added the last part in a low husky voice, just millimeters from her ear. He took his arm away from her shoulders and dropped his hand to the bare skin of her knee just below the hem of her midi-length A-line skirt, giving it a squeeze as he nuzzled his nose just below her ear. She jumped, quickly shoving his hand off her leg. He'd just gone way passed inappropriate, which to be honest, was what he'd been worried about with her along. But, her skin was so soft and she smelled of vanilla and coffee beans and he just couldn't find the will power to care anymore. "See?" he said to the woman, as he brought his hand back to Rory's knee, this time just resting it there; Rory made no further attempts to remove it, he noted with a smile.

"Aww, sweetheart. With a guy like him, I'm amazed you can keep your hands off each other at all."

"Well, it's not as hard as you'd think," she responded, glancing at Logan with a glare in her eyes. But despite her words, and the tone with which she said them, the truth was in the tingling feeling where his hand rested on her knee. She knew this was just some game to him—see how many people they could fool. It had nothing to do with any real romantic feeling for her. And yet, if it meant more lingering touches, move loving gazes (fake as they may be), she couldn't find it in herself to stop it. She knew letting a guy get to her like this was pretty much against everything she stood for, but it seemed that the matter was very much against her control.

"So," she said, wiping the fake glare off her face, and letting the smile she was holding back take over. "Aces are special, huh?"

"Oh yeah," he smiled back. "They're definitely something special."


	17. Mr Handsome and Charming

"It looks dirty," he commented, looking at the plant before him.

" Logan," Rory scolded.

"Well it does. I mean, come on, Rory, this cactus is totally shaped like a giant penis—even more so than the others."

"Is that _all_ you can think about? This is a beautiful work of nature."

"Well personally, I like to think of my…"

"If you even finish that sentence, I will never speak to you again."

"You're no fun," he whined. She just glared at him until he relented. "Fine, fine, I'll keep my comments on the phallic nature of the cacti to myself."

"Good. Ooooh, look at this," Rory suddenly exclaimed, noting the next plant over. She grabbed his hand and pulled him with her until they were standing directly in front of it. "This is the Polaskia chichipe."

"Chichipe?" he repeated.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just fun to say. Chichipe. Chipchipe…" he smirked.

"OK, I get it; it's fun to say," she said in annoyed voice. "Now, as I was saying. This is the Polaskia chichipe. Its common names include chichibe, and chichituna."

Logan tried to suppress his giggles at the ridiculous plant names—unsuccessfully. Rory shot him another glare and he immediately shut up.

"The plants natural habitat is central Mexico where it is cultivated for its edible fruit. It also produces creamy to yellowish green night flowers and can grow up to fifteen feet tall. "

"Yo, Nathanial Lord Britton, you forgot to mention how long it lives."

"I prefer John Bartram, thank you very much," she replied sarcastically.

"I'm just saying, why'd you drag me to the Jardin Exotique if you already know everything about every cactus that grows here?"

"I did my homework, this way we can see more because we don't have to take the time out to read the plaques," she responded huffily.

"Well maybe I want to read the plaques, huh? You ever think of that?"

"You don't even want to read the menu when you go to a new restaurant, Logan."

"Well, I want to read the plaques," he insisted.

"No you don't," she scoffed. "You just want to piss me off. Now come on, we need to hurry up or we won't get through the whole garden."

"I'm sorry; I'm still reading the plaque. You know, this reading thing is kind of unfamiliar to me, so it might take me a little while."

"You know what? Fine. You take _all _the time you want. You can catch up with me when you're done acting like a big baby."

Logan watched with a smirk as Rory walked off in a huff, headed to another plant a few yards away. He loved her angry walk—she had this way of swinging her hips that drove him crazy. He turned his attention back to the cactus in front of him, deciding that he would, in fact, read the little placard in front of it—not that it told him anything that Rory hadn't. He decided to take a few more minutes before going back to Rory and playing nice, so he went to the cactus on the other side of the path, and read up on it as well.

Meanwhile, Rory stood in front of a different cactus, but she wasn't really paying attention. How could Logan make her so angry and so turned on at the same time? She hated the way he made her feel—like she had no control over her own emotions. Seriously, he was acting like an idiot, talking about penis shaped cacti as though he were twelve and she could still barely control the urge to kiss him—if only to shut him up.

"You are very lucky."

Rory turned around to face the owner of the voice that had interrupted her thoughts. She couldn't help but admire the man standing before her. He was tall and well-muscled without being overly built. He had olive skin and shaggy black hair the fell into his green eyes.

"Why is that?" she asked with a smile.

"To be here when the Silver Dollar flowers. It is a rare occurrence." Rory looked at the cactus in front of her; a clump of five petaled, white flowers were indeed growing from the succulent leaves of the Crassula arborescens, or Silver Dollar. She had read that plants in cultivation rarely bloomed.

"It's beautiful," she commented.

"Very," he replied, not taking his eyes off of her.

"Oh come on now, tell me you did not just use that line on me," she smiled at him.

"Yes, it is a bit cliché, but I also speak the truth. You have hypnotizing eyes."

Rory blushed and looked down. "Thank you," she said.

"My name is Nicholas, by the way."

"Rory," she introduced herself.

"Well, Rory," he smiled at her, flashing his perfect, straight, white teeth. "Did you know that the Silver Dollar usually grows in crevices between stones of quartz and granite?"

"I did," she nodded in the affirmative. "Did you know that the Silver Dollar, along with other plants of the genus Crassula, use a specialized form of photosynthesis called Crassulacean Acid Metabolism, or CAM?'

Nicholas laughed. "No, I do not believe I knew that. You are both beautiful and intelligent. It is a refreshing combination."

"Rory, I'm back. This place is a maze; it took me forever to find the bathroom. Did you miss me?" a familiar voice broke into the conversation, as an arm suddenly draped possessively over Rory's shoulder.

"No," she replied shortly.

"Isn't she just hilarious. Always joking around," Logan commented to the other man. "Logan Huntzberger, nice to meet you," he held his hand out in introduction.

"Nicholas Theophilus," the other man replied, holding his hand out as well, though in obvious displeasure.

"Nice to meet you. Thanks for keeping my girl busy, otherwise she might have gotten bored and wondered off without me, and that would have been bad."

Nicholas' narrowed eyes wondered from Rory to Logan and back again as Logan squeezed Rory's shoulder, drawing her closer to him. Rory remained emotionless. "Your girlfriend is very pleasant company. She knows much about the garden."

"Well, that's my girl. Sharp as a tack, and beautiful to boot."

Nicholas once again looked at the pair and noticed a faint blush building on Rory's cheeks. "Yes; that she is. I should be going now. It was a pleasure, Rory," he took her hand and placed a kiss on the back of it, before turning and walking away.

"You know, if you keep pretending to be my boyfriend, I'm going to actually start to believe it," Rory said, once Nicholas was gone. "Which is all good and well until you go out and sleep with one of your floozies and I'm forced to sneak into your room in the middle of the night and perform heinous acts of bodily mutilation while you sleep as revenge."

Logan shuttered. "That doesn't sound good."

"Just what exactly were you trying to accomplish?" she asked in annoyance.

"I was rescuing you," he defended.

"Rescuing me? You mean from the nice, handsome, charming man who actually _wanted _to have a conversation with me about the beautiful flora all around us? Yes, you got here just in time. Thank you, Logan," she replied sarcastically.

"Oh please; it's the nice, handsome, charming ones you have to look out for. Next thing you know, they've charmed you straight into their hotel room and seduced you straight out of your clothes."

"Well then, I guess I better stop talking to _you_, otherwise I might follow in the foot steps of dozens of girls before me, and wind up naked in _your_ bed."

"Exactly," Logan exclaimed.

Rory looked at him through narrowed eyes, before turning and stomping off yet again. "Oh come on. You know I didn't mean it that way." She continued walking without a word. "I'm just saying, I know how guys like that work." He continued to chase after her but stopped speaking for a moment, hoping for a response from her. He got none. "I was just looking out for you, Ace. Please, just talk to me."

Rory stopped short, and Logan almost slammed right into the back of her. "Ice cream. Two scoops. With sprinkles." She turned around to face him. "And M&Ms."

"And then I'm forgiven?"

"I'll consider it," she replied, her facial expression unreadable.

Logan smiled brightly, knowing he'd already been forgiven. "Deal!"

* * *

Rory stood off to the side of the room, sipping at her soda. Steph was talking, but Rory wasn't really paying attention. Her eyes were glued to a certain blond boy on the other side of the room. She didn't get him; he was so hot and cold with her. One minute he didn't want her to even come on the trip with them, then suddenly he's all about spending time with her, teaching her how to play blackjack, pretending to be her boyfriend, and chasing off other guys, and then all of a sudden he was ignoring her and flirting with some blonde with the fakest boobs she'd ever seen. She should have known it was too much to expect he felt something for her—that the way she was feeling was due to a mutual, deep connection, and not just because she was a sea of hormones and he was good looking and charming. She felt like such an idiot. 

Stephanie noticed how quiet her friend was being, and she followed the brunette's gaze across the room to see what she was looking at. She didn't know whether she should be mad at Logan for being an idiot, or happy that Rory was clearly jealous. Then again, the jealousy thing could always work two ways. "Come on," she said with a smirk, as she grabbed her friend's hand. "Let's mingle."

"What? No, Steph, I'm not a mingler."

"Well, tonight you are. Come on, let's go flirt," Steph pointed to a couple of guys who were clearly checking them out.

"OK, I am _definitely_ not a flirter."

"Just follow my lead." Stephanie dragged her off towards the guys. "Hi boys," she cooed. "I'm Stephanie, and this is Rory. What'd you boys say you buy us a drink?"

* * *

Logan stood in the middle of the room. A blonde on one arm and a brunette on the other. They were both beautiful—in an obvious sort of way, and they were both annoying the crap out of him, chattering mindlessly into his ears. He'd tuned them out ages ago. His eyes were trained on another, more subtle beauty across the room. He'd noticed almost two hours ago, when her and Steph had started talking with a couple of guys. He'd resisted the urge to march over there and tear the arms off the guy flirting with Rory, and intsead he'd just taken a soothing gulp of his scotch, letting it burn its way down his esophagus. Even when Colin had shown up and dragged Steph away, leaving Rory alone with the bastard, Logan had resisted—but he made certain to keep a close watch on her all night. 

The guy took her empty glass and headed off in the direction of the bar. Rory had already had three of whatever concoction had been in her glass and she was clearly not sober. He once again had the urge to stomp across the room and drag her out of the party by her hair. God, how ridiculous did that sound? So caveman-esque, like he should be grunting and carrying a club to beat away any man that tried to go near his precious Ace. So what if she was talking to another guy, what did he care? It's not like he couldn't find himself another girl. Hell, he already had two. He watched as the guy returned and handed Rory another drink.

"Here you go milady," he replied, as she took the drink from him.

"Thank you," she cooed.

"You know," he said, placing one hand on the wall next to her head and leaning in close. "I can think of a few ways you could show your appreciation."

Rory giggled. "Oh, and what ways would that be?"

"How about like this?" he whispered, bringing his lips down to hers.

Rory froze. She hadn't actually expected him to kiss her; she thought he was just playing around. He was good looking and all, and she'd been having fun with him—even forgetting about Logan and his flock of bimbos—but she barely knew the guy. She stood there, not fighting him, but not kissing back either. The guy put his free hand on her hip, pressing her against the wall. His thumb slipped under her shirt, making small circles on her skin just about the waist band of her skirt. He moved his lips away from hers and started kissing down her neck.

"Anthony," she finally hissed. "Anthony, stop." She tried to wriggle free from his grip on her hip, but he just pressed her further into the wall.

"What's the matter, baby?" he asked between kisses. His lips were making their way over her collar bone and down towards the tops of her breasts, just above the neckline of her shirt.

"We can't do this?" She tried to shrug him off again unsuccessfully.

"You don't like public displays of affection? We can take this somewhere more private, if you want."

"No," she hissed. "I just want you to stop."

Suddenly Anthony was no longer in front of her. She turned her head to the left just in time to see him slam face first into the wall next to her.

"Maybe your English isn't so good, but I believe the lady said 'no.' It's a word that even an imbecile like you should understand."

"Yo, man, get off of me."

"Apologize," Logan growled, shoving Anthony even further into the wall.

"I'm sorry," he yelped. "I'm sorry, I was out of line."

Logan let go of the guy. "Get the hell out of here." He took one good look at Logan, before quickly disappearing into the crowd.

Logan turned to Rory. "What the hell were you thinking?" he growled.

Rory didn't know what to say, she just stood there silently, still in shock.

Logan spoke again, his voice suddenly soft. "Are you OK? Did he hurt you?" He placed his hand comfortingly on her arm.

Rory nodded her head. "Yeah...yeah I'm fine," she assured him.

"Good," he nodded. "I think you've had enough for one evening. Why don't I take you back to your room," he suggested.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Thanks."

Logan led her out of the bar and through the hotel lobby. The elevator ride to their floor was filled with awkward silence, neither sure what to say to ease the obvious tension.

When the lift reached their floor, they got off it and quietly made their way to the rooms. Rory fumbled with the key a little, but managed to let them in.

"Are you sure you're OK?" Logan asked, once they were inside.

"Yeah," she nodded, slumping back against the wall. "I was just caught a little off guard, that's all. Besides, we were in a crowded place, nothing too bad could have happened, right?"

"Thank god for small favors," he mumbled, taking both her hands in his. "When I saw what was happening…I just…"

"Hey, it's alright," she soothed. "I'm OK. It was just a couple of kisses. He wouldn't have done anything more, Logan. It was fine. _I'm_ fine."

"Yeah," he nodded, placing a hand gently on her waist. "Just…I told you, Rory. I told you this morning with the guy at the gardens. You're too trusting, Rory. You could have gotten hurt."

"But I didn't," she assured him.

"I won't always be there to save you."

"But tonight you were, and everything turned out fine."

"I'm glad," he told her.

More awkward silence filled the air. "Well, if you're alright, I guess I should go." He started to walk away.

" Logan," she stopped him.

"Yeah?"

"You think you could stay for a while? I don't think I can sleep yet. Watch some TV with me?"

"Of course," he smiled at her and made his way back to the sofa in the middle of the room. He sat down and she sat next to him, cuddling into his side. They turned the TV on, flipping through the channels until they stopped on a showing of Office Space. It was already nearly over but they decided to watch it anyhow

"I love this movie," Rory smiled. "_Well, that may be, but at least I never slept with Lumbergh_," she quoted along.

They settled into the movie, the tension being slowly washed away by laughter.

Finally the credits rolled, and Logan straightened up on the couch. "You alright if I go now?" he asked, looking down at her.

She looked back up into his eyes, and she didn't answer him. " Logan?" she asked instead, suddenly emboldened by the alcohol that was still coursing through her veins.

"Yeah?"

"Why did pretend you were my boyfriend this morning?"

"To chase off Mr. handsome and charming, remember? So he wouldn't charm you right out of your clothes."

"But why did you care?"

"I don't want to see you get hurt…like tonight," he responded gently.

Rory nodded, conceding the point. "Well what about last night?" she asked.

"Umm..I don't know," he admitted.

"You said I was special."

"You are," he smiled at her.

There was a pause. "Hey," she said suddenly. "Did I ever thank you for saving me tonight?"

Logan laughed. "Don't worry about it, Ace."

"But I should thank you properly," she replied, placing her hand on his knee.

He swallowed the lump that suddenly formed in his throat. "Well, if you wanted to buy me a 'thank you' coffee sometime, I wouldn't be completely opposed."

"That's not what I meant," she smirked at him.

"No?" he swallowed again.

"No." She shook her head, sitting up straighter so they were eye to eye.

"Oh well, then…" but the rest of the words were cut off as she pressed her lips gently into his.


	18. That's WHat Friends Are For

**AN- How's that for a speedy update? Don't get too used to it though. I'd like to thank my new Beta, Rayc Petite.**

**Also, just a note, I've started a live journal, to give you updates on where i am with my story and also as aplace to get your guys feedback. I already have a question up there for you guys about Take a Breath, so go check it out. Thanks.**

* * *

Logan knew he should stop her; she was drunk and there was that whole thing with the asshole in the bar, but her lips were so soft and she tasted like a vanilla latte, so instead, he just parted his lips and kissed her back. He moaned in gratitude as Rory's tongue slid into his mouth.

Logan moved his hand behind her head, pulling her in closer. She shifted her weight slightly, trying to find a better angle, before moving completely to straddle his lap, never taking her lips off his. As Rory's arms slipped around his neck, she pushed herself even closer against him and the last semblance of rational thought fled from his mind.

His hands moved to rest lightly on her waist, for only a moment, before they traveled southward to cup her ass. She thrust her hips slightly into his and Logan felt the bulge in his pants grow. The girl may have been a virgin, but she was definitely not inexperienced in the ways of making out. Logan's hands continued to explore, moving off her ass and around until they rested on the smooth skin of her thighs. Her skirt bunched up around her hips, leaving her thighs exposed.

Rory's hands finally slipped from around his neck, making their way down over his chest and abs. She could feel the faint outline of his sculpted muscles even through his shirt, but it wasn't enough; she wanted to touch him. She'd been so close to taking that final step with Jess, but they'd broken up before they'd had a chance to solidify their relationship. Then there were her feelings for Logan, which were often times even more confusing than advanced calculus, but no matter what she felt, there was still an undeniable attraction. Even when she was certain that their relationship was nothing but platonic, she had always been acutely aware of how hot he was. So maybe it was a combination of alcohol and hormones, but at that moment, she couldn't get enough of him.

Her hands finally found the hem of his shirt. She slipped them underneath and gently caressed the warm, hot flesh she encountered. She continued to study every inch of his torso with her hands while he traced circles on the skin of her thighs with his fingers, slowly traveling higher and higher.

She felt herself tingling, almost aching for his touch at her center. She ground her hips into his, trying to lessen the throbbing feeling between her legs, but it didn't seem to help. Her hands slowly crept their way down his stomach and she brazenly grabbed for his belt buckle. In that moment, reality came rushing back to Logan.

"Aaaaand cut…" he mumbled, grabbing her wandering hand with one of his and using his other hand to push her away.

Rory slid off his lap with a sigh, immediately erecting her barriers. What had she just done? She couldn't deal with this, not with the way she had let herself get so out of control, and not with the way he had reacted. She had practically thrown herself at him, and he didn't want her. Was she was more angry at him, or herself? She shook her head in disgust and turned around, making a bee-line for her room.

Logan watched wordlessly for a moment as she ran from him. What had just happened? This wasn't what he wanted. "Rory stop," he called, standing up from the couch and dashing towards her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her around to face him.

"What?" she growled, freeing herself from his grasp.

"Let's just talk about this," he pleaded.

"What's there to talk about? You don't want me, I get it. Fine, can I go now?" she asked, angrily, motioning to her room before turning and stomping off again.

"Rory, wait," he tried again. She didn't listen.

She stepped into the sanctuary of the bedroom and moved to slam the door, but Logan caught up just in time. He slipped his hand over the threshold and caught the door before it could click shut. He pushed it back open and walked into the room.

Rory spun on him again. "What is it? My boobs aren't big enough?"

"What?" he asked incredulously.

"My legs aren't long enough?"

"Huh?" he asked again, caught totally off guard and oblivious on how to respond to the craziness she was spouting.

"Because it doesn't seem like your standards are very high and yet, apparently, I don't meet them. So I'm just wondering where I fall short."

"First of all—hey!" he said defensively. "Second of all, are you sure you were just drinking down in that bar, or were you smoking crack too?"

"You know what? Forget it," she snapped, sitting down on the bed and grabbing the book that was on her nightstand. She opened it up to the book-marked page, effectively ignoring Logan.

He walked over to the bed, and grabbed the book out of her hand, remarking the page and setting it back beside the bed.

"You're not reading," he told her. "You're probably still seeing double from all that alcohol."

A small scoff escaped her lips as Rory flipped over in the bed, turning her back on Logan.

"What the hell is your problem, Rory? You're the one who kissed _me_. You're the one who climbed onto _my_ lap for god's sake."

Rory turned back around at that, her eyes full of fury. "Yeah, well you didn't seem to mind when you were groping my ass," she spat at him.

"That's before you tried to pants me. If anyone has the right to be angry here, I think it's me."

"Fine then, go be angry and leave me the heck alone," she snubbed him again, turning to face the window.

"No."

There was silence.

"Rory," he finally said, more gently this time, "Rory, please just…will you just look at me?"

She didn't respond.

"I didn't stop _because_ of you, you know," he took a deep breath. "I stopped _for_ you."

She still didn't respond.

"You would have regretted it in the morning," he said matter-of-factly. "I'm a lot of things, Rory, but I won't be your regret, I can't."

He paused, yet again, hoping for some kind of response; he didn't get one.

"Rory, will you stop acting like a freakin' two year old?" he growled in frustration. "I did the right thing and you know it. This isn't how it's supposed to be, some drunken groping gone too far, your first time should be planned, romantic, and with someone you love."

He finally got a response. She turned around slowly, and sat up.

"Who said anything about this being my first time?" she asked, her voice low and dangerous.

_Shit!_ "Rory," he sighed. He figured there was no point in denying it now. "I saw the Bicentennial."

"What?"

"The Bicentennial, on CSPAN, with Paris' little…outburst," he elaborated.

"Yeah," she spat, sarcastically, "I remember, I was there."

"So…I know, it's nothing to be ash-"

"Get out," she snapped, cutting him off.

"What?"

"I said, get out!" she growled, thrusting her index finger in the direction of the exit.

"Rory…"

"Get out!" She stood up from the bed. "Get out, get out, get out!" she angrily shoved him towards the door.

He didn't put up much of a fight due to shock, and she easily pushed him out of the room, slamming and locking it behind him. She leaned against the door, using it to support her weight as she slowly sank to the floor. She could still hear him on the other side of the door, pleading with her to open up, but all she did was hug her knees to her chest and cry.

After a few minutes of begging and pleading had passed, Logan finally decided he needed another plan; she obviously wasn't going to open the door for him. He could just leave her alone, but he could hear her crying through the door and he just couldn't stand it. He couldn't believe this was happening, not when he had done the right thing. Kissing her had been even better than he'd imagined, he'd imagined it a lot. Her soft, gentle, yet needy touch had driven him mad with desire. He could have had her, and he'd wanted to, perhaps more than she would ever know, but he had resisted. He had resisted for all the reasons he'd told her, she deserved better. She would have hated herself in the morning for going through with it, and she would have hated him. Unfortunately, it seemed like she pretty much hated him now, anyhow, so what was the difference?

He sighed and flipped open his phone, scrolling through his contacts until he reached the _S_ section and he hit 'send.' The phone rang, and rang, and rang, until it clicked over to voicemail. 'Hi, this is Stephanie, if you're receiving this message, it means I can't talk right now, probably because my mouth is otherwise occu-"

Logan slammed his finger down on the 'end' button. Damn Steph for not answering her phone when he needed her. The irony of it was that she probably _was_ off blowing Colin... Which meant she was probably right next door, he realized, suddenly.

He rushed to the doors adjoining the girls' suite with the boys', across the common room, straight to Colin's room. He started banging on the door furiously, making sure they knew he wasn't going way.

Logan heard a faint giggle, and then a muffled "Go away," from Colin.

"Open up," Logan said, continuing to pound on the door. There was some shuffling, and after a minute, the door opened to reveal Colin. He was clad in a hotel bathrobe, looking more than a little disheveled.

"We're kind of busy here, buddy," Colin said, shooting a glance over his shoulder towards the bed.

Logan looked around his friend and spotted the person he was looking for, red faced, hair mussed, buried under the covers. "Steph…" he said.

Stephanie sat up quickly, the smile she had worn fading as she clung the top sheet to her chest and looked at Logan. Something was wrong, she was sure, and she could immediately think of one thing that would get him so worked up. "Is she okay?"

"She's locked herself in her room. She won't come out, she won't talk to me—"

"Give me a minute, I'll be right there."

"Steph," Colin whined.

"Oh give it a break, you've already gotten laid once tonight, you can forego round two for a friend in need," Steph rolled her eyes at her bedmate. Colin sighed, and looked back at Logan.

"She'll be right with you," he shrugged in defeat. The door closed and after a few minutes, it reopened with a fully dressed Colin and Stephanie emerging from within.

"What happened?" Stephanie asked immediately. "Was it that guy? I knew I shouldn't have left her alone with that guy."

"No, I mean, yeah, he over stepped his bounds a bit, but I caught it before it could get too out of hand."

"Thank god," Steph sighed, "what happened, then?"

"Well after I took care of the jerk-wad, I brought her back to the room and we watched the end of 'Office Space.'"

"Okay, not seeing the crisis," Colin sighed, still slightly annoyed by the interruption.

"Well after the movie, we started talking and then she kind of…"

"What?"

"Kissed me."

"Yes!" Colin smirked. "It's about time one of you got some fucking balls."

"Shut up," Steph hissed, slapping him on the shoulder, "that's clearly not the end of the story. Go on, Logan," she turned her attention back to the blond.

"I don't know, maybe you should just talk to her about this, Steph. I mean, it's probably not my place to say."

"Logan," Steph prodded, "I need to know what I'm walking into here." Logan sighed.

"Well, suffice it to say, things got a little carried away and—"

"Carried away?" Steph groaned. "Tell me you didn't. Please, please, please tell me you didn't, because there are factors here, factors you don't know about and-"

"If you're talking about the virgin thing, we know," Colin piped in. Steph turned around, looking at him questioningly.

"What, you've never watched CSPAN for fun on a Friday night?"

"So you knew?" she turned back to Logan with a sigh.

"Yes," he admitted, "and I _didn't_ sleep with her, but thank you for having _so_ much faith in me," he spit back. "I really appreciate it."

"Fine, I'm sorry," Steph apologized. "So, you were the one that stopped it?"

"Yes."

"And did you happen to bring up the whole CSPAN debacle?" Logan avoided Steph's gaze, looking sheepish.

"Maybe," he admitted.

"Okay," Steph sighed, "I think I get the picture, I'll take care of this. Just…wait here," she instructed, waving them towards the couch as she disappeared into the next room.

Logan plopped down on the couch with a sigh, burying his face in his hands. Colin sat down next to him.

"Ow? What was that for?" Logan asked, rubbing his head where Colin had just smacked him.

"Dude, you had her right where you wanted her and you picked _tonight_, of all nights, to start acting like a gentleman? If you had just sat back and enjoyed the ride like the horny pig you are, we could both be getting laid right now." Logan glared at his friend.

"I know you didn't mean that, so I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear it."

"Fine," Colin sighed, "you're right, that was probably just the blue balls talking, I'm sorry." The boys fell into silence. "So…" Colin drawled out, looking for something to say. He was a guy, after all, and he wasn't very good with the whole heart-to-heart stuff.

"So," Logan repeated.

"Exactly how far did you get, because Gilmore looks like she could really-" This time, it was Colin who got the smack on the head. Just then, the door swung open and Finn came stumbling into the room, attached at the lips to a curvaceous red head.

"Ahem," Colin cleared his throat, and Finn finally broke contact with the girl.

"What? Oh, Love," he said to his make out partner, "this is Colin and Logan. If you just ignore them, they'll go away," he went to send a pointed glare at the two, but stopped short at the sight of his blond friend. Even through his typical drunken stupor, Finn could see he was upset. "Oh great, Rory?" he asked.

"Rory," Colin confirmed.

"And I take it Steph is with her now?" he asked, noticing that Colin looked a little disgruntled as well. "Broke up some naughty time, did we?" Colin glared at the Australian.

"Sorry, love, I hate to do this to you, but we're going to have to cut this a little short," Finn told the red head. "Looks like I'm in for a long night of completely heterosexual male bonding with these less fortunate love fools." She pouted seductively at him. "Now, Love, don't give me those eyes, I'm here for a few more days, there's plenty of time to get your fill of the Finnster." He handed her a card with a number on it. "Now don't forget to call me," he told her as he pushed her out the door, staring longingly at her ass as she walked away from him. Logan was going to owe him big time for this.

* * *

"Rory," Steph called through the door, knocking softly. "Rory, hun, it's me, open up, please." There was the sound of the some sniffling, followed by some shuffling, and the door swung open to reveal Rory. She was still in her skirt and tank top from earlier, her hair was down, and strands of it stuck to her tear streaked face, with black mascara tracked down her cheeks. "Oh, Rory," Steph stepped into the room and wrapped her arms around her friend, pulling her into a comforting hug.

"I'm such an idiot," Rory sniffled.

"No, hun," Steph assured her.

"I actually thought he liked me. I can't believe I let myself fall for that infamous Huntzberger charm, I'm such an idiot." Stephanie broke the hug, and went to close the door. She took another good look at her friend.

"Come with me," Steph instructed, leading Rory towards the bathroom. "Sit," she pointed to the closed lid of the toilet seat. Rory did what Steph told her to do. "Now tell me what happened," Steph instructed, as she ran a washcloth under the tap, putting some face wash on it.

"I threw myself at him, like some stupid slut, and he rejected me. Then, as if the one-on-one humiliation wasn't enough, turns out he witnessed by national humiliation as well. God, I'm such an idiot."

"So you keep saying," Steph replied, as she handed Rory the washcloth to wipe her runny makeup off her face, "but you're not."

"Logan probably thinks I am," Rory groaned.

"Logan's worried sick about you."

"I can't ever face him again."

"Rory, listen," Steph said, kneeling down in front of Rory and placing her hands on her knees. "Logan cares about you. He did what he thought was the right thing. He didn't want you to make a huge mistake. He won't look at you any differently because of this, if he did, he'd be a huge hypocrite, because he's done more then his share of things he's regretted. We all have, ok?" Rory nodded her head. "So, are you going to go talk to him?" Rory shook her head this time.

"No, I can't, I think I need to hide my head in shame a little while longer."

"Okay," Stephanie laughed, "you go change into some pajamas, and I'll order us every dessert on the room service menu. We'll wallow in your shame together; just don't shut him out too long, alright?"

"Alright," Rory agreed with a sniffle.

"Good," Steph said, walking towards the common room to get the room service menu.

"Stephanie?" Rory called.

"Yeah."

"Thanks." Steph smiled back at her.

"No problem, hun, that's what friends are for."

* * *

**Psst, don't forget to review please :)**


	19. The Boyfriends

**AN: Merry Christmas guys. I think I'll just conveniently ignore the fact that I haven't updated in 4 months and just go on with the story. Enjoy.**

* * *

"See, I told you shopping was therapeutic," Stephanie beamed as she and Rory made their way down the hall towards their room, their arms brimming with shopping bags full of clothes and accessories.

"You really shouldn't have bought me this stuff," Rory reminded her for the umpteenth time. Every time Steph just _saw_ Rory looking at something that might have caught her eye, she insisted on buying it. She literally picked it up off the rack and delivered it to the cash register herself.

"Nonsense, shopping isn't nearly as fun if I'm the only one who gets to take anything home." Steph struggled to fish her key out of her purse without toppling all of her new possessions onto the floor. Rory succeeded in getting her key first, having slid the slim piece of programmable plastic into the back pocket of her jeans, and foregone a purse all together.

The girls made their way into the room and dropped their heavy load. "I see you put Daddy's credit card to good use." Stephanie turned to see Colin sitting on the couch, idly flipping through a magazine with his feet up on the coffee table.

"What are you doing here?" she asked curiously.

"Waiting for you," he stated obviously, setting the magazine down and standing up to approach the blonde. "Rory, do you mind?"

"No, I'll just, uh, go…" she stumbled over her words, pointing nervously towards her room. She was feeling slightly uncomfortable with Colin's presence since she knew that he knew all about the events between her and Logan the other night.

"What's up?" Stephanie asked once Rory was gone.

"Oh, just checking to make sure you were still alive and hadn't gotten thrown into an international prison."

"Hey, that was one time and it was a complete misunderstanding," she pouted. "I got my Italian mixed up; I totally didn't mean to offer my 'services' to that very attractive Venetian cop."

"That's not the point, Stephanie," Colin groaned. He didn't need to think about her offering her 'services' to anyone else, especially when she didn't even seem to be offering them to _him_ the past couple of days.

"Then what is the point?"

"The point is I haven't seen you in almost two days."

"Rory and I have been bonding."

"The girl is eighteen, Steph, she doesn't need a babysitter."

"She's had a rough couple of days, Colin. She may not need a babysitter, but she does need a friend. Besides, I'm the one who convinced her to come with us, I can't just abandon her."

"And why did you want her to come in the first place? Oh right, to set her up with Logan. That plan would go a lot more smoothly if you'd actually let him see her." Stephanie had been giving Logan the brush off since the incident with him and Rory two days earlier, so that Rory could have some time to recover from her embarrassment and postpone the inevitable awkwardness.

"So that's what this is really about? Logan sent you over here?"

"No…well, yes," Colin admitted. "He wants to talk to her, and I would actually like to spend some time with my girlfriend while we're here so, really, it was a mutual agreement to put an end to this insanity."

Stephanie stood completely still, her eyes wide. Colin's face had morphed into his best impersonation of a deer caught in the headlights. "What did you say?" she finally asked after an extended pause.

"It was a mutual agreement to put an end to this insanity?" he asked hesitantly.

"No, before that," Steph replied, never breaking eye contact.

"He wants to talk to her?" Colin tried, lamely.

"After…"

Colin took a deep breath. "Girlfriend," he admitted. Before he knew what was happening, he felt a sharp sting on his left cheek. He looked at Steph who was shaking her right hand and gnawing on her lower lip, a myriad of emotions displayed on her face. "What the hell was that for?" he asked, when his brain caught up to the situation and he realized she had slapped him.

"You think you can just manipulate me into doing what you want me to by calling me your girlfriend? It doesn't work that way, Colin. You don't get to just use that word whenever it's convenient for you and forget it whenever it's not."

"What? Stephanie, no, that's not…"

"No," she cut him off. "Don't you dare, I've put up with all of your stupid games because deep down I actually believed you cared, but this is just too much. You don't just get to play with my emotions like this…"

"Steph…"

"You're such an asshole, Colin McCrae." She turned away and began to stalk off, but Colin reached out and grabbed her.

"Stephanie…" he tried again.

"Let go," she tried to shake out of his grasp, but he just held on tighter and pulled her towards him.

"Stephanie," he repeated, his tone softer. "I wasn't playing."

She felt her jaw go slack as she stared into his eyes, which were only millimeters away from hers. She saw sincerity in them. "Colin," she whispered.

He closed the distance between them, slipping his tongue into her already open mouth, and moving his lips languidly against hers. He felt a sudden drop of moisture on his face after a moment and he pulled back slightly to see her eyes glistening with more moisture. "Oh god, don't cry," he said nervously. "It's a real blow to my ego after all of this."

"I'm happy, you dummy." She slapped him playfully on his shoulder, sniffling back her happy tears.

"Really?" he asked hopefully, letting out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"Really," she admitted, burying her face into his shoulder.

"Good," he whispered, pulling her a little bit closer, and holding her there for a few perfect moments.

"Why?" she finally broke the silence that had descended upon them. She remained in his embrace.

"Why what?"

"Why now? Why this sudden interest in becoming a boyfriend?" she asked, speaking into the cotton of his shirt. She felt him shrug.

"I don't know. It just came out, and I realized that it didn't scare me. It felt right. It _feels_ right. We've been doing this forever, Steph. You know how much you mean to me. I've got to stop acting like a frightened, little kid eventually, right?"

"Right."

"Listen," he said, finally pulling away. "You should go back to Rory. I'll tell Logan to forget about it. She'll talk to him when she's ready."

Stephanie took a minute to think about this before making her decision. She exhaled sharply. "No, I'm starting to think she'll never be ready at this rate. I want my friends to be as happy as I am, damn it. If that means we have to lie and manipulate to make it happen, well then, that's just what we'll have to do." She finished with conviction.

"Oh thank god," Colin breathed out. "I was trying to do the good boyfriend thing, but if I had to listen to any more of Logan's pathetic whining I was going to have to shove his Ipod down his throat."

"His Ipod?"

"He was actually playing depressing, country music on it earlier. It was pitiful. We seriously need to get those two idiots together before they become irreparably pathetic."

"They're really lucky to have friends like us who are willing to help them out," Stephanie added happily.

"So what's the plan?" Colin asked.

Stephanie thought about it for a moment. "OK, here's what we're going to do."

* * *

You're sure you don't mind if I go out to dinner with Colin tonight?" Stephanie asked her friend as she sorted through the closet full of clothes in her hotel room.

"Of course not," Rory promised her. She had been hogging Stephanie for days and it was only right that she let her friend go enjoy a romantic dinner with her 'boyfriend.' Rory was so happy for the blonde girl. Despite Stephanie's many adamant statements to the contrary, it was obvious to the brunette that her friend wasn't entirely happy with the arrangement she and Colin had. It was good they had finally sorted things out. Besides, at least someone was having some luck in the love department. "You and Colin deserve a nice night out to celebrate. I'm perfectly happy curling up with some Red Vines and The Power of Myth." She was already in her pajamas anyhow; she wasn't in the mood to do much spring breaking.

Stephanie stopped sorting through her clothes to look over her shoulder at Rory. "Normally, I would make it very clear just how pathetic it was that you brought Bill Moyers with you on spring break, but this time, I'll let it slide since it's in my best interest." She chanced a quick glance at the clock as she turned back around, noting that it was officially after six o'clock; perfect. "How about this?" she asked, picking up a pink halter top and spinning around to show Rory. "With my khaki mini-skirt?"

"It'll look good," Rory replied with a smile.

"You know what would really go well with it?"

"What?"

Stephanie hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. "No, never mind, forget about it. I wouldn't want to intrude."

Rory rolled her eyes at her friend. Stephanie wasn't worried about intruding, it wasn't her way; she was just pretending to be polite. "What do you want to borrow, Steph?"

"Well…" Stephanie drawled out. "It's just that that those brown, high heeled boots you have would look _so_ perfect."

Rory laughed at her friend. "It's fine for you to wear them, tonight," she insisted.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you," Stephanie squealed, rushing to give Rory a big hug. "They'll knock Colin's socks off—and hopefully his pants as well," she grinned madly. Rory shuddered at the unpleasant imagery. Stephanie just stood there, staring back at Rory.

"And…I'll just go get those for you," Rory finally replied, once it became clear that Stephanie was expecting them immediately.

"You're the best," the older girl beamed as she skipped back towards the closet to gather her outfit.

Rory left Stephanie's room and headed towards her own. She went straight for the closet and began rummaging around trying to find the footwear in question, when she heard the door to the room click shut and a familiar voice speak. "Looking for these?" he asked, standing in front of the closed door and dangling a pair of boots before him.

"Logan!" she startled, standing up quickly and spinning to face him. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk," he replied flatly, putting the boots down and taking a few steps towards her, making sure to stay between her and the door to block her escape route. Rory took a few steps back, trying to put as much distance between him and her as possible. She should have known she couldn't avoid him forever; at the very least, they had to share a ten-hour plane ride in a couple of days. Still, she could at least _try_ to postpone the inevitable awkward and embarrassing conversation she had in store for her.

"About what?" she asked as innocently as possible. She could have kicked herself for going the 'playing dumb' route—that never worked. A few more steps found her successfully backed into a corner. He continued his slow approach until he was so close that she could feel his chest rising and falling and the beating of his heart disturbed the air around them.

"About this," he whispered as his left hand anchored itself on her hip and his right gently cupped her cheek. Logan closed the distance between them, covering her lips with his own. She instinctively arched her back and let her arms circle his neck as she responded to him fervently. Kissing him, she was kissing Logan Huntzberger—again. She was kissing him in nothing but her Happy Bunny pajamas, boldly declaring 'please go suck someplace else.' In all honesty, she was perfectly happy with him continuing to suck just where he was. It wasn't until his hand started migrating up from her hip and she realized that soon there would be nothing but the very thin material of her tank top separating his hand from her breast, that her panic from before began to resurface. How was it that a single kiss from Logan could make her forget everything? Could make her lose control? That wasn't her—she strived off control; she needed it; she was completely lost without it. She finally pushed him away.

"I should really get those boots to Steph," she whispered breathily, trying to steady her erratic breathing.

"She's not there anymore," he replied, moving his hands to the wall on either side of her so that she couldn't run away.

"What?"

"She didn't send you back here for boots, Rory. In fact, I'm fairly certain that her plans for the evening not only don't include boots, they don't require much clothing of any sort."

"You planned this with her," Rory said, finally realizing just how she'd been played. Of course he hadn't been waiting for her, holding a random pair of shoes, just out of coincidence.

"You were avoiding me," was his response.

She didn't reply. She was suddenly feeling very claustrophobic in that little corner with his arms around her. She tried to push him away to escape but he held tight.

"You can't keep running away from this, Ror; we kissed."

"It was a mistake." A really, really wonderful feeling mistake that she never wanted to end, but a mistake nonetheless. She had pretended to be mad at him for 'rejecting' her, but she couldn't even think about what would have happened if he hadn't. She very well might have actually gone as far as having sex with him. She knew Logan cared about her, but he wasn't exactly the relationship type. It wouldn't have meant to him, what it would have to her, and that would have crushed her. She could have lost her virginity and one of her best friends in one fell swoop. Then, all of a sudden, he's kissing her again with his soft lips, his agile tongue, and the gentle caress of his hands. What exactly did he think he was doing?

"But see, I don't think it was."

"That's easy for you to say," she replied defensively. "You do this kind of thing all the time."

"Not really." She looked at him incredulously. Logan sighed. "Okay, so the kissing thing I've done a lot of, yes. And sex…" He squeezed his eyes shut uncomfortably for a moment. "Yeah, I guess I've done my fair share of that as well, but this…" He opened his eyes to look at her, and moved one hand off the wall to motion back and forth between them. "This is completely new."

"Logan," she started, but he continued on as though uninterrupted.

"You're scared, I get that." He told her. "You're scared because I make you feel a way that no one else ever has—uninhibited, carefree, bold. I'm scared too, because you make _me_ feel a way that no one else ever has. You make me feel like maybe a little bit of stability isn't a bad thing. You make me feel like maybe being with just one person isn't a sacrifice, even if it means giving up a few things."

"What are you trying to say?" she whispered.

"I want to be your boyfriend."

She blinked several times, wondering if maybe it was just a very convincing Logan clone standing before her. Clearly the real Logan would not have said the words she'd just heard come out of his mouth. "You what?"

"You heard me."

"You do realize what the word 'boyfriend' implies, right?"

"I think I've got the general idea," he smirked. He finally took his hands back and crossed them over his chest, leaning back on the heels of his feet to get a good look at her incredulous face.

"Monogamy, for starters."

He laughed. "So I've been told."

"That means you can't sleep with anyone else," she reminded him.

"Really?" he feigned shock.

"And despite what happened the other night, I'm not really ready to…" she trailed off.

"Have sex." He finished bluntly. "I get it, Rory, really, I do."

"Are you prepared for that? I mean, you honestly think you can…"

"I haven't been with anyone in months, Rory. Not since before you and Jess broke up. In fact, not since the night you showed up at my dorm after your fight with him. It wasn't a conscious decision, it's just—none of them were enough. None of them were you. You don't have to worry about me sleeping with anyone else. I don't want anyone else."

"Why now?" she asked. "If you've felt this way for so long, why are you just telling me all this?"

"Because I stopped you."

"Huh?"

"I'll admit I freaked out when I found out you were still a virgin."

"Gee thanks," she replied sarcastically.

"It's not like that. It's just, well, I don't think you realize this, Ace, but you're incredibly hot." Her face warmed considerably as the blush crept over her cheeks. He couldn't help himself; he leaned in to place a chaste kiss to her lips. "Have I ever told you how cute you are when you're embarrassed?" Her face heated up even more.

"Point, please," she reminded him.

"I want to have sex with you. I wouldn't be much of a heterosexual male if I didn't. And let's face it; being with you is only going to make me want you that much more." She was looking straight down at her shoes now, the redness in her cheeks practically clown-like at this point. She wasn't used to guys talking about her so explicitly, except maybe Tristan, but he was generally just being an ass. Logan lifted her chin to make her look at him. "Stopping you the other night was one of the hardest things I'd ever had to do, but I did it because I knew you weren't ready for that.

"You see, the thing that scared me the most, was the thought that once I started kissing you, I wouldn't be able to stop. I've never had to exercise much self-control in my life, and being with you without _being_ with you, is going to take a whole lot of self-control. But when push came to shove, I did it. I put your needs above my own desires."

Rory didn't even know how to respond to this. Logan Huntzberger was standing in front of her, practically begging her to go out with him.

"What do you say, Ace?"

"Are you sure about this?" she asked.

"If I haven't made myself clear by now, I might actually have to start going to class so I can learn how to get to a point."

"Logan Huntzberger in class? What will the teachers say? They might actually make you take a test." She grinned.

"I'll take that as a yes." Bantering Rory was always a good sign.

"You're so cocky."

"Someday, Ace, I plan on showing you just how cocky I am."

"Pig."

"Oink, oink," he smirked.

She shook her head exasperatedly before wrapping her arms around his neck, and bringing him in for a kiss. Apparently, Paris was right; she was Annette Bening after all.

* * *

**Review please O:)**


	20. Making the List

**AN- Woohoo! A new chapter. and with no further ado...here it is.**

* * *

"And when you say 'on fire,' you mean it in the slangy 'doing better than imaginable,' kind of way, right

"And when you say 'on fire,' you mean it in the slangy 'doing better than imaginable,' kind of way, right?" Rory asked hesitantly into her phone as she sat in the terminal of the private airport waiting for the Morgan family jet to be prepared. She had called her mother to let her in on the travel plans, only to find out that things back in Stars Hollow were going less than smoothly.

"Actually, when I say 'on fire,' I mean it in the 'big, consuming, orange flames,' kind of way," Lorelai responded, hiding her panic about the fire at the Independence Inn behind the humor in her voice.

"Oh my god, that's awful."

"Well, no one was hurt and the fire chief says that we'll be able to get back in by tomorrow morning, so I'm currently working on erecting his shrine…"

"_Dirty_," Rory interrupted. There was a short silence over the phone during which Rory could imagine her mother's faux, reproachful glare. "Sorry, continue," she apologized.

"Anyway," Lorelai went on, "we couldn't come up with enough hotel rooms to house all of the 'Raven' lunatics, err…I mean _admirers_, so we've put them up around town for tonight. Long story short, Mr. and Mrs. Poe number two are crashing in your room tonight and since you're getting back so late anyhow, you might just want to spend another night with your _loooover_," Lorelai finished mockingly.

Rory paused. "Uh…actually," she hesitated. "There's something I kind of need to tell you about that."

"And…uh, what would that be, exactly?" the elder Gilmore questioned, cautiously, the humor suddenly gone from her voice.

"We kind of _are_ now…I mean, not '_lovers_,' but you know, he's my boyfriend now," Rory admitted with a shy smile on her face. She wasn't sure how her mother was going to react to the news, but it didn't keep Rory from still being happy about it.

"Oh," was all Lorelai managed to respond. She had finally started to almost accept the friendship Rory had with Logan and his pals, but Lorelai could always tell there was more between her daughter and the blond Eli. Deep down, she had hoped Logan would be too stubborn and Rory too oblivious to actually turn those feelings into something more, but it seemed that that hope had turned out to be false. She really didn't want to imagine her daughter schmoozing it up at society parties with an Armani suit by her side, even if it had turned out that Logan _wasn't_ the _worst_ kid in the world.

"Are you okay with this?" Rory prodded tentatively.

"Umm, yeah, sure, I mean…I knew it was bound to happen eventually, and, well, he's never broken your arm and run away, so he's already one-uping Jess," Lorelai let out a strained laugh.

Rory let the dig on her ex-boyfriend go—she knew this conversation would be awkward enough without throwing extra fuel on the fire. "I mean, I know he's rich and all…"

"No, Rory, that doesn't matter," Lorelai insisted.

"Really?" Rory asked doubtfully.

"Well, okay, it matters a little, but I'm coming to terms with it and really, I just want you to be happy," she persisted, trying to convince herself as much as her daughter. "You're happy, right?"

"I am," Rory admitted.

"Good… just do me one favor?"

"Yeah?"

"Sleep at Stephanie's tonight?"

Rory laughed light-heartedly. She could tell her mother was still skeptical, but overall, she had taken the news really well. Maybe Lorelai was starting to come around after all. "Sure thing, Mom."

"And you'll tell me all about it when I see you?" Lorelai wasn't so sure she actually wanted to _hear_ all about it, but she knew she needed to keep the lines of communication between herself and her daughter open.

"Of course."

"Alright, well I guess I'll let you go. Call me when the plane lands?"

"Will do," Rory admitted, "love you, bye."

"Love you too, kid."

From across the room, Logan glanced at his girlfriend sitting cross-legged on the hard plastic seats of the airport waiting room. She had been animatedly talking into her cell-phone. He had wandered away to give her some privacy during the conversation she was currently having with her mother.

After a few moments, he had noticed the way Rory's body language changed, becoming instantly tenser. Logan had a feeling Rory had just broken the news about their new dating status to her mother. Lorelai had never been his biggest fan, although she seemed to be more accepting of him in the friend role lately. Well, no matter how she felt about him dating her daughter, she would just have to get used to it, because Logan wasn't missing the single life at all. Sure, it had only been two days, but so far Logan was finding that he actually enjoyed the couple-y-ness of it all. He might actually miss falling asleep with her snuggled into his side and waking up with her half on top of him when they were back in Connecticut. Even if all they had been doing really _was_ sleeping—and to be honest, he'd been pleasantly surprised that Rory had even gone for that.

As soon as he saw Rory flip her phone shut, he made his way back to her and slipped his arms around her from behind. "How's everything at home?" She leaned back in her seat and tilted her head up, puckering her lips to indicate that she was expecting a kiss. Logan dutifully complied.

"Mom burned down the Inn," she answered once their lips detached.

"What?!"

"It sounds pretty minor," Rory quickly added. "She said they'd be back in tomorrow morning, and I'm sure the insurance will take care of the damage."

"So everyone is okay?" he asked worriedly.

"Mmmhmm," Rory assured him.

"Good." He nodded in relief. "It's time to get on the plane," he added.

"But I don't want to go home," Rory whined.

"Sure you do. It's where your Mom is."

"True," she admitted reluctantly.

"And Lane," he added.

"I guess," she replied, still not convinced. "But it's also where Chilton, Tristan and Paris are."

"I thought you and Paris were friends again."

"I think I preferred it when we were enemies," the brunette responded wryly.

"Oh come on, she's not that bad," he replied.

Rory stared pointedly at him, waiting for him to admit the truth—he'd heard enough Paris stories, even without witnessing the CSPAN break down, to know just how bad Paris really was.

"Okay, so maybe she is that bad," he relented, "but you still missed her when you had your Deep Throat status."

"Lo-ogan," Rory whined, turning profusely red. "How many times do I have to tell you I wa_s not_ the Deep Throat?"

"What, a guy's not even allowed to have indecent, politically themed fantasies about his girlfriend, now?" he questioned, indignantly.

Rory blushed some more, but decided to concede to her boyfriend. "Fine," Rory huffed, rolling her eyes. "I was the Deep Throat. Does that make you happy?"

Logan smirked wickedly. "Only if I get to be the Woodward."

* * *

"We have now reached our cruising altitude; please feel free to move about the cabin." Rory loosened her death grip on Logan's hand as the captain made his announcement and she felt the plane level off. She wasn't so much afraid of flying as she was of taking off and landing. Now that they were comfortable cruising through the air, her anxiety was significantly mitigated.

"If the feeling in my pinky never returns, I'm blaming you," Logan dead-panned as he shook the blood back to his extremities.

"Aww, poor baby," Rory playfully soothed, "do you want me to kiss it and make it better?"

Logan smiled like a toddler offered a lollipop and held up the throbbing digit for his girlfriend. "Yes please," he responded cheerfully.

Rory rolled her eyes but leaned over and pecked the injured finger with her lips. "All better?" she questioned.

Logan took a moment to contemplate. "Weeeeeellll," he drawled out, "I think the pinky is fixed, but it's possible I might have bit my lip in shock when you dug your claws into me."

"Oh, so you're going to need some more healing then, huh?" she asked with a little chuckle.

"Just a tiny bit," he replied in a low, husky voice—leaning in towards her and holding his thumb and forefinger up for emphasis.

"Well, if I must," Rory sighed, as though it would be a huge effort. She leaned in to give him just a short, chaste kiss, but just as she moved to pull back, Logan wound his hands behind her head—holding her face just millimeters from his own.

"It _really_ hurts," he whispered, "I think it's going to need a prolonged course of therapy," he added, pulling her head back to his for another kiss and slipping his tongue into her mouth.

"_Blech_," the couple quickly split apart at the sound of the gagging noise.

"Some of us are trying _not_ to lose our lunches, you know," Finn, the source of the previous interruption, commented.

"Now, now, no need to be jealous," Logan chuckled while Rory buried her blushing face into his shoulder.

"Of your new-found whipped-ness?" Finn postulated, "Not bloody likely. And just for the record, those of us who still have our balls are going to play some poker."

"So you'll be playing with yourself then?" Logan asked, casting a glance towards the other happy couple on the plane.

"Don't worry, he's used to it," Colin threw in, not looking up from the issue of _The Wall Street Journal_ he was reading on the other side of the plane, with Stephanie passed out on his lap from her pre-flight Valium.

Logan laughed heartily at his friend's expense. Rory smiled at the playful bantering of the trio and motioned to Logan that he should go spend some time with the boys.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yeah," she assured him, "you should go play. I've got some work to do, anyhow," she added, pointing towards the knapsack sitting by her feet.

"You can't seriously think I'm going to let you do school work on vacation, can you?" he asked incredulously.

"Vacation is over, Logan," she reminded him.

"Nuh-uh," he disagreed, "vacation is not over until we're back at Yale…or Chilton, or at least Connecticut," he added.

"Believe it or not, some of us actually have assignments that need to be finished and _some_ of us actually do the work we were assigned."

"Who would do something crazy like that?" Logan jokingly asked.

"Oh, only your favorite-ist girlfriend of all time."

"You're my only girlfriend of all time," he reminded her. "And 'favorite-ist' is not a real word."

"See," she replied triumphantly, "my vocabulary is completely shot. You better let me study; otherwise, I might embarrass you in front of important people by using entirely made up words."

"Well, we couldn't have that, could we?" Logan played along.

"Of course not," she agreed, "So you see, you should go lose obscene amounts of money to your best friends if you know what's best for you_ and_ me."

Logan sighed in defeat, but gave one last attempt. "You know, I can't condone this, right?" he asked as Rory pulled the bag onto her lap.

"Well then, it's a good thing I don't need your permission," she responded, with an evil grin. Logan gaped disbelievingly at her as she turned her attention towards the US History text she pulled from the nylon sack and completely ignored him.

* * *

Rory sat, staring blankly at the pages in front of her. She had been stuck on the same paragraph of The Cold War for the past half hour. The truth was, her mind was busy thinking about a different set of pages, neatly folded and stuck in the back of the loose-leaf notebook by her side. She had decisions affecting the course of her own history to make.

Glancing up at the boys to make sure they weren't paying attention, she closed the heavy tome and picked up the notebook, shaking free the loose pages inside it. Three neatly stapled pieces of computer paper, each divided into two columns, floated free. No one but her mother had seen the pages. To be honest, Rory was afraid to show them to anyone else for fear that her decision would be influenced by the response she got—especially from the people who were currently surrounding her. Still, Rory couldn't get this off her mind so she unfolded the packet and started reading down the lists on the first page.

'_Close to home, Grandpa's alma matter, big dorm rooms,'_ the first column began. She continued to read down the dozen or so other points on the left side of the page, pausing at the bottom. She reached for the pen behind her ear and pulled it free, hesitantly posing it over the clean, white area just below '_good coffee_.' She couldn't seem to make herself write it in. Sure, it was a pro, but it wasn't the kind of pro she should be basing her decision on. On the other hand, she wasn't really basing her decision on this one point; it was the entire collection of pros and cons for all _three_ schools that would decide her future. Besides, a pro was a still a pro and should go on the list—right? But Rory wasn't so sure her mother would see things the same way. How would Lorelai react when she saw the addition? Then again, it wasn't her mother's decision to make.

With a sigh, Rory put down her pen, reached into her bag, grabbed a pencil and tentatively scribbled the single word at the bottom of the list.

* * *

"Kings and fives." Logan threw his two-pair down on the table for the others to see.

"Sorry, Huntz," Colin smirked gleefully. He put his cards down in single-order—seven, eight, nine, ten, Jack, "Jack-high-straight," he announced as he reached his hands into the pot to gather up all the chips.

"Not so fast, Farha," Finn informed his friend, "Moneymaker's in the house—read 'em and weep," Finn set down two eights followed by three queens, "Full House."

"How the Hell does he do this every time?" Colin replied in exasperation. "When we have nothing, he's got deuces, but when either of us has a good hand, he's got a better one. Take off your sweater," Colin ordered.

"Colin," Logan scolded as Finn wasted no time in doing as he was told. "You know better than to encourage Finn to get naked."

"He's got a t-shirt on underneath," Colin defended. "I don't trust that he's not cheating."

Logan rolled his eyes. "You really think Finn would be willing to even put forth the thought and effort necessary to successfully cheat?" he questioned. Logan stretched his arms and stood up from the table at the front of the cabin. "You two figure this out. I have to pee and, when I get back, I expect Finn to be fully clothed," he looked pointedly towards the Australian. Finn pouted petulantly.

"Hurry up," Colin told him as Logan turned around and started towards the bathroom.

"Yeah, the slower you pee, the less of your money I win," Finn added.

As Logan headed towards the lavatory, he paused in front of his girlfriend who lay sprawled out on the seat he'd left her on, snoring softly. Her books had slipped from her hands and fallen on the floor next to her. Logan took a moment to grab a blanket from the storage bin above her and tuck her in. He reached down to gather up her scattered school supplies. He placed her text book back in the bag and then picked up the spiral notebook next to it. As he flipped to the cover, a set of papers fluttered free and he bent down to retrieve them.

Logan didn't mean to read her stuff—in all honesty he figured it was school related and wasn't even remotely interesting, but something on the page immediately jumped out at him and he stopped short, still in a squatting position. His eyes flitted up towards the top of the page where blue and white block letters clearly labeled the chart 'Yale' the page was divided into two halves, one labeled 'Pro' and the other 'Con.' At the bottom of the pro list, was what had originally caught his attention in the first place—his name.

"What's going on?" Colin approached him from behind, having noticed his friend staring at something. Logan reached over his shoulder and handed the list to his friend. "Oh," was all Colin said.

"Hey, you made the list," Finn piped in cheerfully, having joined the other two.

"Shhh," Colin scolded, nodding towards the sleeping Rory who grumbled slightly and squirmed on the seat but didn't wake up.

"Never took Reporter Girl as the kind to base what school she went to on a guy, but hey," he added more softly, clapping Logan on the shoulder, "congrats."

Logan stood up completely and turned around to give him a stern stare. "This isn't good," the blond reminded him.

"Why not?" Finn replied naively. "It's not like you _want_ her going to Harvard. That place sucks, and it's filled with sweater-vest-wearing-Colin-look-alikes that think they're entitled to your Sheila." Finn grabbed the lists from Colin's hands and began flipping through them. "And luckily, by the looks of it, Yale is firmly in the lead.

The other two men opted to simply ignore Finn. "You haven't told her, have you?" Colin questioned.

"Well, we _just_ got together," Logan defended. "And we're on vacation. It hasn't been the right time."

"She has to know."

"I know, I'm going to tell her," Logan said defensively.

Colin gave his friend a stern look. "When?"

"Soon," Logan assured him.

"Before she goes ahead and makes one of the biggest decisions of her life without having all the facts?" the shorter boy asked pointedly.

"Soon," Logan said again more forcefully, "soon," he repeated, this time as a whisper; mostly to himself. He would tell her just as soon as he found the right moment.


	21. As Far as Paris Can Throw Him

There were only a few students left milling around the halls as Rory made her way out of the newspaper office Monday afternoon. Paris had kept them even later than usual, trying to make up for lost time due to spring break as well as Paris' emotional break down the week before. Apparently, Paris had recovered from the rejection relatively unscathed, and gone back to being her usual, bossy, patronizing self.

"So, Gilmore," she heard the sharp voice of her friend break through the quiet din of the hallway. She turned around to see Paris locking up the Franklin office. A moment later, the blonde girl had caught up with her. "You respond to that big, fat envelope from Harvard yet?"

"Umm, not exactly," she replied nervously, playing with the loose, nylon strap of her backpack in her hands. A lot had happened over spring break that Paris didn't know about and considering everything that had happened between the two girls, in some warped way, Rory felt Paris deserved to know. On the other hand, Paris didn't exactly keep her opinions to herself and Rory was concerned about the reaction her news would get.

"Well what the hell are you waiting for?" Paris clipped. "If you don't send in your paperwork soon, they're going to give your spot to one of those remedial wait-list kids." Rory refrained from pointing out that Paris hadn't even made a spot as one of those 'remedial wait-list kids.'

"Actually," Rory paused apprehensively, "I kind of _did_ send in my paperwork. I just…didn't send it to Harvard." There, the first part of the news was out.

Paris stopped walking and stared at her friend. "Where did you send it to?" she asked suspiciously.

Rory took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Yale," she answered, "I sent it to Yale."

"Oh dear god, you're Felicity! First you follow the popular guy you've got the crush on to college; soon you're going to chop off all your hair!"

"It's not like that," Rory replied defensively. And it really wasn't. Sure, she had added Logan to the list, but in the end it hadn't even mattered. By the time Rory had gotten home from her trip, Lorelai had found the copies of the pro-con lists Rory had left behind and the answer had been clear, even to her. Yale was the winner by a long shot with the pros nearly doubling the cons. Rory had walked into her room Saturday, luggage in hand, only to see that her once crimson bulletin board was suddenly very blue. There was a Yale sweatshirt hanging below a cardboard cutout of her head and a stack of t-shirts declaring 'rory's going to yale!' neatly stacked on her bed. It was that moment that Rory knew for sure. It had all felt so right. It didn't even amaze Rory that Lorelai had figured it out first; although she _was_ a little surprised her mother had so willingly embraced it. Rory was going to Yale. It couldn't have been more right.

"Well then what _is_ it like," Paris asked, rolling her eyes. She never pegged Rory Gilmore as the kind of girl to make her decisions based on a guy.

"Well, for starters, Logan's not just some guy I have a crush on…" Rory began. It had seemed like the perfect opportunity to break the rest of the news, but now she wasn't so sure. Still, she had to tell her some time. "He's my boyfriend."

Paris continued to stare, her jaw dropped noticeably at the news. It was no surprise to her, or anyone else who had seen Rory and Logan together, that they both had feelings for each other—as stupid as she thought Rory was for falling for a playboy like Huntzberger—but it _was_ a surprise that he had agreed to commit to one girl, especially an innocent, High School virgin like Rory.

Rory shrugged noncommittally. "Just call me Mrs. Beatty."

Paris got over her shock and quickly morphed back to her role as antagonist. "So just because you've been dating the guy for—what—one whole week, it's suddenly okay to make life choices based on him?

"No," Rory insisted, "I chose Yale because it was the right choice to make. It was all there in black and white on the pro-con lists. Even my Mom could see it and she hates Yale more than anyone."

"So this has nothing to do with Huntzberger?" Paris asked, completely unconvinced.

"Nothing, I swear."

"Good," Paris answered, resuming her strides towards the school's exit, "because I wouldn't trust that walking STD incubator as far as I could throw him—and there's a reason softball wasn't one of my extracurricular activities."

Rory gawked at the other girl. "But you're the one who told me I could—I believe your words were—'land the whale,'" Rory sputtered at Paris's objections to Logan. Hadn't she been the one that had talked her into her feelings about Logan that night before the speech? And now she was acting like Rory was an idiot for it.

"I said you _could_," Paris clarified, "not that you should. It's all good and well to fantasize about a guy like that falling head over heels for you, but do you _really_ believe he's going to keep it in his pants for you?"

Rory took a few, deep breaths to calm herself down. Paris was wrong; she didn't know Logan at all. She didn't understand how sweet and caring and wonderful he could be. She didn't understand _him_ at all. She wasn't going to let Paris get to her. She was happy and she wasn't going to let her friend's cynicism get her down.

"Logan's not like that," Rory defended as they made their way out into the late afternoon sunlight. "Sure he has a bit of a…torrid past, but that's the past. He's never lied to me. He's never given me a reason not to trust him. He's a good guy, Paris. If he says he can do this, he can do this," she finished adamantly. She looked up after her rant and any doubts Paris may have implanted into her head were suddenly erased. Logan was there, leaning casually against his red Ferrari, smirking in her direction. "See," Rory added triumphantly, "he can't even wait to see me." She smiled brightly.

"Yeah, here on _his_ terms," Paris said, rolling her eyes, "but wait and see how he takes it when he finds out you're following him to Yale."

"I'm _not_ following him to Yale," Rory sighed in frustration.

"Whatever," Paris dismissed, "I bet he won't be so happy when he feels you closing in on him. Besides, with you at Yale, it will make it a lot harder for him to sleep with all those New Haven sluts."

"You know what?" Rory was sick of listening to Paris' pessimism. Rory was happy with the way things were and she didn't want to let a petulant Paris rain on her parade. "Go be negative somewhere else." She turned to face Paris and started backing away slowly towards her boyfriend. "I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

The air was warmer than it had been a week and a half ago before leaving for Monaco he noticed as he stood in the Chilton parking lot, leaning casually against his car. Rory wasn't expecting him, so it wasn't like she was supposed to meet him at a specific time, but Logan had definitely expected her to be out of school by now. He was starting to worry that she had left right after classes and he had missed her. It was Monday though, and he knew she had Franklin meetings after school; there was no way she would have skipped out on one of those—Paris would have had her hide.

Finally, just as he was considering going inside to look for her, the front doors of the school opened and his girlfriend and the aforementioned editor of the paper stepped out. It looked like Paris was ranting about something, which was nothing new, but Rory was managing to hold her own—she always could in a debate. Finally the brunette he had been waiting for lifted her head and caught sight of him, smiling in his direction. A few more words were exchanged between the two girls before Rory started making her way towards him.

"Hey," she said happily when she finally reached him, "what are you doing here?" She leaned in to give him a quick peck on the lips in greeting, circling her arms around his waist.

"Can't a guy just want to see his girl?" he asked cheekily.

"But it's not Friday," she reminded him.

"Fridays are a group thing. You don't expect to just see me then?" he asked, feigning insult.

"I'm just saying it's a surprise. I'm not saying it's not a good one. Besides, now I don't have to wait forty-five minutes for the next bus since Paris held us overtime and made me miss the last one."

"You're using me, Gilmore," he continued playing around, "toying with my emotions. You could hurt a guy's feelings this way."

She pulled her arms back and shrugged her shoulders. "You'll get over it," she told him matter-of-factly, opening the car door and sliding in. He stood there for a few moments, just taking in the sight of her. It had only been a couple of days since he had last seen her, but already he'd been missing her like crazy. He was turning into one of those lovesick puppy kind of guys he had never wanted to be, but somehow he didn't seem to mind; he was happy. Of course, he tried not to think too far into the future; he knew it wouldn't be long before she found out and when that happened, he wasn't sure they would be able to withstand the blow. But that wasn't now—now they were together and they were happy. He couldn't worry about what would happen when he told her; he'd worry about that when the time came.

"Come on, Huntzberger, a girl hasn't got all day." The sound of her voice broke him out of his reverie.

"I'm coming, I'm coming, hold your horses," he scolded, walking around to the other side and getting into the diver's seat.

Rory chuckled slightly, shaking her head in amusement. Logan could always bring a smile to her face. This is what Paris didn't get—the way he looked at her, the way he smiled at her, how easily their banter flowed, how comfortable he made her feel. That had to mean something, right? Logan wouldn't cheat on her; he'd given her his word. She never had any reason not to believe what he said. Logan cared about her; he'd be thrilled when he found out she was going to Yale. She couldn't wait to give him the news. She'd show Paris just how wrong she was.

"I've got a surprise for you," she whispered huskily in his ear as he buckled his seat belt and turned the key in the ignition. She heard the engine scratch and then stall as Logan's hand slipped upon feeling her breath against his skin.

"Jeez, woman," he scolded, trying to even out his breathing, "hasn't anyone ever told you not to be so sexy when a guy is trying to operate an expensive piece of equipment?"

She chuckled slightly, loving the effect she was having on him. "Sorry," she replied innocently with a bat of her eyelashes, "I promise I'll be a good girl for the rest of the ride."

And she was a good girl, although she was squirming in her seat for the entire time. She'd never been so excited to get a boy back to her room. She wanted him to find out the same way she did. She wanted to see his face as he took in the new décor in her bedroom and realization finally took over. He would be just as excited as she was; she was sure of it.

Twenty minutes later, Logan turned his car into Rory's driveway and turned off the car. "So do I get my surprise now?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"It's in my room," she replied in excitement, practically bouncing up and down as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Your room?" he smirked, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Get your mind out of the gutter," she insisted.

"Hey, you're the one inviting me back to your room so you can have your way with me," he teased, coming around the car to open her door for her.

"I've already got my way with you," she smirked as she stood up, "I've got you wrapped around my little pinky."

"Are you calling me whipped?" he asked in mock outrage as he reached into the back of the car to get her bag for her.

"Yes."

"Fair enough," he shrugged, throwing the backpack over one shoulder and placing his free hand on the small of her back to follow her into the house.

"Close your eyes," she instructed once they reached the foyer.

"Kinky," he teased.

"Shush and do as you're told," she chastised.

"Yes, ma'am," he saluted, and then he promptly did as he was instructed and closed his eyes. Rory took his hand and led him back through the kitchen to her bedroom. She opened the door and tugged him in, positioning him so he would have a panoramic view of her newly decorated room.

"Okay…..now," she directed.

Logan opened his eyes and took in the site before him. There was less Yale paraphernalia at the Yale Bowl during the Harvard-Yale game than there was in her room. He felt the color drain out of his face.

"Surprise," she sang out.

"Umm, wow, it's…uh…blue," he stuttered.

"Ooh, and here, this is for you," she grabbed one of the t-shirts off her counter and held it in front of her so he could clearly read the words, "rory's going to yale!" If there had been any doubt of what this meant up until that point, it was gone.

"You're not smiling," she noted, cocking her head to the side to examine him. "Why aren't you smiling?" _Oh god_ Rory's internal freak out was beginning. Had Paris been right after all? He didn't want her at Yale.

"No, no, I'm smiling," he insisted, plastering on a horrible fake smile. "See?" he pointed to his face.

"Aren't you excited?" she asked worry laced in her voice, trying to hold back the tears that she felt forming behind her eyes.

"No, I'm happy…" She looked at him dubiously. "I swear. It's just…" _Crap_! Now he was going to have to tell her. He was hoping to put this off at least a little bit before he had to come clean. He knew she wouldn't take it well, although he had a feeling that it was going to be even worse now than it would have if she had chosen Harvard. At least then it wouldn't be _all_ his fault. "You're not doing this because of me, are you?" If she made a decision like this based on him he would never forgive himself, especially when she didn't have all of the facts.

"What? No! Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"I saw your list on the plane, Rory. I know you put my name on it."

"Fine," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest indignantly, "so I considered the fact that my boyfriend would be at the same school as me, alright?" she admitted. "But it wasn't the _reason_ I made this decision. Sure, I liked the idea of being near you, and I _thought_ you'd like it too, but apparently I was wrong. Apparently Paris was right. I can't believe this. You want me far away so you can fool around behind m back, oh god." She sunk down onto her bed as she finished her rant, holding her head in her hands and trying desperately to keep it together. Paris couldn't be right; that would be horrible.

"What, Rory, what the hell are you talking about? You can't be serious? We've been together less than a week and you're already accusing me of cheating? Real nice, it's good to see how much faith you've got in me."

"Well, what the Hell am I supposed to think?" she asked, whipping her head up and wiping away some stray tears. "Why else wouldn't you want me at Yale?"

Logan took a few deep breaths to try and calm himself down. He knew he was mostly in the wrong here for hiding things from her, but for her to accuse him of wanting to sleep around after everything he had said to her the other night was ludicrous. He tried to tell himself that she didn't really mean it; she was just upset over his reaction—or lack there of—to her news. He had to admit that it must have looked odd to her. It was time to tell her the truth, although he wasn't really sure that was going to make her any less upset.

"It's not that I don't want you at Yale," he insisted, kneeling down next to her bed and taking her hands into his so she couldn't hide her face anymore. She turned her face away. "Rory…" Nothing. "Ace," he tried again. "Please, just hear me out," he pleaded. She let out a sigh and turned back towards him slightly, but still didn't meet his eye. He took this opportunity to go on. "You were just always so insistent about going to Harvard. I thought that was what you wanted. Then we get together and suddenly all your plans are changed and you're going to Yale? I just don't want you making this decision for the wrong reasons. It's too important. I need to make sure that you going to Yale has nothing to do with me because…" he took a deep breath; it was now or never, and never wasn't really an option, "because I won't be there next year."

Her eyes quickly shot up to meet his. "What?" she asked, completely shocked by this revelation. She tore her hand away from his as though he had burned her.

Logan took another deep breath, taking her hand in his once again. "You have to understand, Ace," he tried. "These plans were made months ago…long before there was anything happening with us. The guys and I…we…we decided to take a year off from school. We're going to take the yacht and sail around the world…see things."

"The guys?" she croaked out between soft sobs.

"And Steph," he admitted. _All of them, _she was going to go to Yale and be all alone. It was true that she would have made this decision regardless of them being there, but they _were_ there, or at least she had thought they would be. She had been excited to know that she would share her college experience with her friends. Technically, their not being there didn't change anything, but that didn't stop it from hurting like hell. She'd been counting on them…on him.

"This is crazy," she spat out, standing up and moving away from him. She couldn't stand him holding her hand and looking at her with those pitiful eyes, as though he was the victim here. He wasn't the victim, _she_ was. She had let her reservations about being with him go, and had opened herself up to him. She had let her guard down and look where it got her? He was leaving her. Was this some kind of sick joke? To go through all of that to get her when he knew all the while he was going to leave?

"Rory." He stood up to follow her and tried to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. She brushed him off.

"I can't do this," she said, turning around calmly. Her voice was suddenly very even and the tears had seemed to stop.

"Do what?" he asked fearfully.

"_This_," she reiterated, motioning back and forth between them.

"Ace," he pleaded, "I know this sounds bad, but we can work this out."

"Work it out?" she sneered.

"Hey, I'm not the only one leaving here, you're going away too," he snapped. He hadn't meant to attack her like that, but he was freaking out. He didn't know what to say to make her see his side.

"For _three months,_ Logan, I'm going to Europe for the summer with my _Mom_. And you knew about this long before we ever started dating. _You're_ going to be bobbing around in the South Pacific for a year. It is _so_ not the same."

"Can't we at least try?" he asked pathetically.

"And people think _I'm _the naïve one," she scoffed. "Logan, ninety percent of the time you won't even have access to a telephone. Your friends are going to be getting drunk and partying it up with the locals, and you're…what? Going to sit on the boat and pine after your girlfriend? Why am I not buying it?"

She was right, of course. He knew she was right. It wasn't like they were in a long-term relationship; they had just gotten together. How could a brand-new relationship survive a year apart? And it wasn't fair of him to ask her to stay with him until he left, that would only make it that much harder when the summer came. Still, he'd just finally gotten her and he wasn't ready to let her go. It wasn't fair. "Ace, please, don't do this," he begged. It was the only defense he had left.

"Do what," she shrugged her shoulders indifferently, "break up with you? _News flash_, Logan, I just did."

* * *

**AN2: I know it seems bad...and so soon after I got them together, but trust me, please :) This issue needed to be dealt with and now that it's out there, I can resolve it. I won't let this linger on, it will all be fixed in short order and then I've got lots of fluffiness in store for a while. Anyhow, hope you enjoyed it. Don't forget to review ;)**


	22. Vacation's Over

**AN: Previously on Worlds Together...Logan and Rory headed to Monte Carlo with the gang fro spring break. THe sexual tension between the two hit new heights and a slightly enebriated Rory made a move on Logan. He stopped her before things got too out of hand but Rory felt humiliated by what she ahd done. Logan, howeve, took it as a sign that he was mature enough to handle a relationship with Rory. With the help of Steph he was able to get Rory alone and convince her to give them a shot. Their shot didn't last very long, however. When Rory got home she made the decision to go to Yale. When she told the supposedly good news to Logan, he confessed that he _wasn't_ going to Yale; instead he was going to take the year off to sail around the world with his friends. Rory, understandably, didn't take the news too well and broke up with him. **

**And that, my friends is where I left you all hanging from the cliff 8 months ago. Aren't I wonderful ;) So with that said, enjoy chapter 22 of WT.**

* * *

The sun was starting to set, casting an orange glow over the calm blue expanse of the South Pacific Ocean. A cool breeze lapped over the tanned, exposed skin of his upper half, drying the sweat on his back from the heat of the late afternoon sun. But Logan couldn't enjoy the weather or the scenery. His buzz was wearing off, leaving him with the unmistakable signs of a hangover—pounding headache, gut-wrenching nausea. He let his head droop between his knees. He desperately wanted another drink, but sadly, the entire supply of liquor was currently making its way to the Ocean floor along with the rest of their possessions and the yacht that had stored them. Besides, he highly doubted the nice, heavily armed men transporting them to Jakarta would look kindly on any further imbibing, especially since he and his friends were all currently hand-cuffed and being arrested for boating while intoxicated and crashing into an Indonesian Coast Guard vessel.

Yep, today Logan Huntzberger was as big of a screw up as his father always told him he was. Not that it was much of a surprise. He'd been screwing up for years and he'd never really cared before—after all, there was always someone there to bail him out of his mess. And this time, there would undoubtedly be someone there again. Probably his sister, since she was the one person in his family who could actually be counted on to do something because she cared about him and not because she wanted to cover up any scandal that could be used as slander against the great Huntzberger name. But despite the inevitable bailing out, somehow this time felt different.

Maybe it was because this time he actually _felt_ like a screw up. To tell the truth, he'd been feeling like a screw up for months. This trip was supposed to be fun—a chance to put off the realities of adulthood for another year and just let loose and be a kid. But instead of feeling like a carefree adventure, it mostly just felt like running away. He was Peter Panning it; refusing to grow up and accept the changes that went along with it—good and bad. Because deep down, he always knew he was a screw up and the less responsibility he had, and the less people depending on him, the less damage he could cause. Yet, lately, his running away seemed to be causing a whole lot of damage—yachts destroyed, friends facing international criminal records, and girlfriends—make that ex-girlfriend—left broken hearted.

Then again, he didn't really know that she was broken hearted. Sure, she had been upset when she had learned he was going away, but she was probably long over him. Knowing Rory Gilmore, she'd moved on and wasn't looking back. She probably spent the summer with men falling at her feet, begging for a chance to carry her back-pack from city to city with her while she cluelessly and assumed that European men were really just that chivalrous. And by now, she was probably home, getting ready for her new life at Harvard—much more concerned with what stationary she should get than with the relationship they'd barely had. Just because he was broken hearted—yes, it was time to admit it—it didn't mean that she was and that was something he couldn't run away from no matter how hard he tried. It was a screw up that no amount of money in his sister's bank account could save him from. This time, he would have to live with his mistakes.

"I need a drink."

"Really, what a surprise—Logan Huntzberger needs a drink," Colin replied testily.

"What the hell crawled up your swim trunks?"

"What the...? We're being arrested, Logan. _You_ got us arrested."

"It's not like it's the first time," he dismissed.

"It's the first time outside of the developed world. Do you know what prisons are like in Indonesia? Because I don't and I have no desire to find out, but thanks to you, I'm going to."

"Calm down, Colin," Stephanie attempted to ease her boyfriend's temper. He was rightfully upset, but turning on each other wasn't going to help. At least Finn was keeping his cool. In fact, he was so cool he was half-passed out.

Besides, Logan had been having a tough time recently. Stephanie blamed herself for practically forcing him and Rory together. Not that she didn't love Rory and think that she and Logan would be perfect together, but she hadn't considered things any farther than that. She should have considered the long-term consequences of her actions. Now two of her friends had been hurt—if Rory was really still her friend considering the numerous unreturned phone calls she'd left for the brunette before their trip.

The point was, like it or not, they were all in this mess and they had to stick together.

"Calm down? He crashed into a coast guard ship, Steph. _Coast Guard_!!! They're military. We'll probably be brought up on war crimes."

"You're being over dramatic. We'll get out of this."

"Of course we will," Finn mumbled sleepily, showing the first signs of life—other than a snore—in over an hour, "I'm too pretty for prison."

Colin rolled his eyes. "It's my own fault. I don't know what I expect when I surround myself with drunken idiots."

"Hey," Logan protested, "I'm not an idiot."

"Right, because out-drinking Finn on a daily basis for the last four months is smart. And getting into a game of Chicken with a naval craft—super intelligent idea, Logan."

"Whatever," the blond dismissed, not having a more sufficient comeback. Logan may not have been an idiot but lately he was sure acting like one. Not that he was ready to own up to it—he was still too busy wallowing in self-pity.

"Some more words of brilliance, Huntzberger?"

"Stop," Stephanie insisted again, trying to put an end to the bickering, "I think we all get it. Logan made a mistake…" Colin glared at her, wordlessly pointing out her obvious understatement. "A big one," she elaborated, "but he's been having a hard time—"

"Don't give me that bullshit," Colin cut her off before she could even finish her statement. "He got dumped, it's not like somebody died. Besides, it's been four freaking months." Colin turned from Stephanie to Logan. "You and Gilmore were only together for like, two minutes. Get over it. You've had girls throwing themselves at you all summer. Take your pick and move the hell on, because I've got to say, this new side of you is pathetic."

Colin was right, and Logan knew it. So what if Rory was the first girl that Logan had real feelings for? So what if he could have loved her? He had made the choice to leave and give up any chance they could have had. He had given it up for this stupid boat trip and he'd been drunk and miserable the whole time. He had to get over Rory Gilmore. It was time for him to move on—first thing tomorrow.

* * *

"..And flirting with a guy in a pompom hat and a skirt is quite an accomplishment," Lorelai finished telling the story of her Pope encounter to Babette.

"Well it sounds like ya had a _terrific_ trip." Babette tore open the packet of hot cocoa, ready to welcome her neighbors home and get all the dirt on their European backpacking adventure.

"It was." Rory smiled fondly thinking of the amazing summer she had had. She looked over at her mother for confirmation and instead of giving it to her, Lorelai mimed a yawn.

The younger Gilmore girl caught on to the not so subtle hint and, anxious to get to her own unpacking and sleep in a real bed, stretched her hands conspicuously over her head and let out a real fake yawn.

"You okay, hun?" Lorelai asked pointedly.

"Yeah, I'm just a little sleepy." She rubbed her eyes for effect.

Babette finished pouring the cocoa into the cups and brushed the powder residue off her hands. "Oh, of course, you girls must be wiped." She started backing out of the kitchen. "I'll, ah, get out of here."

"Oh, well thanks, Babette."

"Well, good night. Sleep tight. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Babette turned around completely and headed for the door. "Morey, I'm coming home," she screamed to her husband next door before she'd even left the Gilmore home.

Lorelai buried her head in her hands as soon as her well meaning, but over-bearing neighbor had left. She really did love Babette, but she was tired and she missed her home, her bed, her shower...and there was only so much Babette a girl could take when she was smelly, achy, and tired.

"I'm going to go unpack," Rory announced.

"Ugh, tomorrow," Lorelai moaned.

"No, if I leave stuff unpacked overnight everything's going to get gross." She got up and made her way out of the kitchen.

"Everything's already gross," Lorelai reasoned, reluctantly getting up from her seat at the table and following her daughter.

"Ahh," Rory breathed a sigh of relief as she entered the sanctuary that was her bedroom. She headed directly for her closet to hang up the sweatshirt that was tied around her waist. Lorelai immediately plopped herself face first onto the bed.

"Oh, oh my god, your bed feels good." She buried her face into a throw pillow.

"Do _not _get comfortable. I will sleep on top of you if I have to."

"Oh man, smell this." Lorelai held the pillow out to her daughter.

"What?"

"I forgot that pillows don't have to smell like feet." She brought the pillow back to her and propped herself up on it. "You know, I have to say, I think it's good I did this hostel thing in my thirties and I'll tell you why…" She began to ramble.

Rory ignored her mother, too busy admiring her closet full of clothes. She fell into the mess of hanging fabric and hugged her garments appreciatively. "I missed you. I missed you all," she groaned as the feeling of the soft, clean fabric enveloped her.

"If I had done it in my twenties or teens," Lorelai went on, "I would have been naive enough to think that hostels were exotic and romantic. But once you're in your thirties you've lived enough to know they're gross and should be avoided at all costs."

"I had a dream about you in Copenhagen." Rory pulled out one of her favorite shirts and looked longingly at it. "You were there and you and you and you." She went through each item.

"Listen." Rory turned to her mother but didn't let go of her clothing, rubbing the soft cotton of one of her shirt sleeves against her cheek. "Since we slept on the plane we should go to sleep now, but get up really…"

She was cut off by the ringing of a cell phone. Lorelai had brought her phone to Europe just in case someone needed to get a hold of them for an emergency, but it had not been used. Rory's cell had remained home, sitting plugged in to the charger all summer. She certainly wasn't expecting any calls on it and yet her unmistakable ring tone continued to trill loudly throughout the room.

"Who is it?" Lorelai asked curiously.

"I don't know." Rory glanced down at the LCD screen with the word 'unknown' scrawled across it.

"Answer it," Lorelai chirped, "word of our return must have spread already. We're very beloved."

Rory shrugged and flipped the phone open. "Rory Gilmore's phone," she answered cheerily. "If you are calling from the French, Portuguese, or Belgian consulate on behalf of Babette Dell, please press one. If you are the cute hash dealer from Turkey calling to find out if we made it over the border, please press two…."

"If you're Bono calling to apologize for not being at your hotel when we were there stalking you, please press three," Lorelai shouted towards the phone.

Rory rolled her eyes at her mother and stifled a laugh. "If you're one of the Swiss Guards in the fruity, cool clothing calling to arrest Lorelai Gilmore for touching the Pope, please press four…" Rory trailed off, waiting for the caller to reveal themselves. There was silence on the other end of the line. "Hello?" she finally said after a few moments. "Hello?"

She furrowed her brow in curiosity, claming up as a strange tension filled her. She stood, frozen as her mind went though the possibilities for a moment before finally, slowly, flipping the phone shut.

"No one there?" Lorelai asked. Rory shook her head. "Do you think it's…"

Lorelai didn't have to finish. Rory knew who her mother was thinking of.

Shortly before the end of the school year, Rory had been at a party where Lane's band was playing. Jess had been there and he seemed to be in a particularly funky funk. Not long into the gathering, Jess wandered upstairs and Rory found herself trailing after him for some inexplicable reason. If she was honest with herself, there was a tiny part of her that still had feelings for him despite all the bad that he had done. She couldn't help it; and she couldn't help feeling the need to go comfort him since he was clearly upset.

She found him in one of the bedrooms and although he didn't seem to take issue with her presence, he didn't exactly open up to her either. Still, somehow, one thing led to another and soon they were lying on the bed, kissing. She wasn't sure what had gotten into her but as soon as his hands went for her belt, she snapped out of it. Jess had responded badly to the rejection, but when Dean, who was also at the party, saw Rory running down the stairs in tears, he'd responded even worse. The result was a couple of black eyes and a few thousand dollars worth of property damage.

That was the last Rory had seen of Jess Mariano; he'd left Stars Hollow a few days later without a word, but over the next several weeks she had received multiple phone calls where the person on the other end of the line said nothing. She knew it was him—those times.

This time, Rory shook her head 'no'. "I don't think so." Just as sure as she had been that the caller on her graduation day had been her taciturn, James Dean-a-like, ex-boyfriend, she was sure that this caller was not.

"Dean?" Lorelai suggested.

"Is getting married," Rory reminded her mother. Rory had tried to remain friends with Dean after their break-up, and had succeeded for a while, but things had been much more difficult between them ever since he announced his engagement to his second girlfriend, Lindsay Parker. Dean had moved on—he wouldn't be calling her.

"And then there was Logan," Lorelai deduced, "you sure have broken a lot of hearts, kid."

"I don't know," Rory tried to reason, collapsing down into a near-by chair. She couldn't think of any logical explanation for Logan to be calling. He was off in Bora Bora or somewhere equally exotic, partying it up and not thinking about her at all. And yet, she couldn't shake off the inexplicable feeling that it was him. "Maybe it was really just a wrong number."

"And you don't think they would have just hung up or—I don't know—said 'sorry, wrong number'?"

"Why would Logan be calling me?"

"I don't know, maybe he misses you."

"Or maybe I just have him on the brain, what with being home and Yale being so close and everything."

"But he's not going to be at Yale," Lorelai reminded her.

"Yeah, but he was. All of my Yale memories are of him, Steph, and the gang. It's going to be weird there without them."

"You'll make new memories and new friends."

"I know, I just…"

"You just miss him."

"It's stupid; we were barely even a couple."

"But you were friends for a long time before that. It's not stupid to miss him."

"I'm just tired," Rory excused. She sighed, standing back up from the chair. "I'm not thinking right." She didn't really want to talk about it anymore. Getting over Logan had been hard, despite what had almost happened between her and Jess at that party. In fact a part of her suspected that what had almost happened with Jess might have been some horrible attempt on her part to try and speed the 'getting over' process up. The point was, she had finally almost been able to forget about him when they were in Europe and she wasn't ready to have to deal with thoughts of him again now that she was home. Then she might have to recognize that she _still_ wasn't over him, but with him a half a world away, what other choice did she have?

"Me, too," Lorelai admitted, realizing that her daughter was done with the conversation. She pulled herself up off of Rory's bed. "I'll just leave you alone to make out with your sock drawer."

Rory smiled as Lorelai got up and headed out of the room. "Close the door," she instructed her mother with a wink.

As soon as the door was shut, Rory pulled open the top drawer of her dresser. She looked down at the plethora of clean, white cotton. "Hello boys," she crooned with a grin. Despite her conflicted emotions, she was definitely happy to be home.

* * *

The dial tone rang in his ears for a few seconds before he finally managed to hang up his phone. She had sounded good—really good. She must have just gotten back from Europe, judging by the way she was talking about the trip. It had most definitely sounded like exactly the kind of European adventure he'd expect the Lorelai Gilmores to have and exactly the kind the elder Gilmores would have hated—trouble with foreign consulates and Swiss Guards, stalking of iconic rock legends. It sounded like they'd had an amazing trip—although he wasn't sure how he felt about this 'cute' hash dealer. It looked like Rory Gilmore had moved on—just like he expected she would.

Just like Logan was going to.

Honor had bailed them out like she always did and the group had decided to celebrate their freedom with a blow-out bash in the beach house they had rented for the week. Where they were going after that was still to be decided.

Logan set his phone down on the night stand and collapsed back into bed. It was only eight in the morning after all, but he had woken up over an hour ago and had been unable to get back to sleep. An unusual feeling was gnawing at his gut and he was pretty sure it was guilt. Not that he had anything to be guilty for—except almost getting his friends ten to twenty in a Javanese prison and sinking a $700,000 yacht. But surprisingly, neither of those things were the reason he was feeling this way. He knew exactly where the guilt was coming from and surprisingly, the phone call had helped even though he hadn't said a word. Rory was doing just fine without him—she was happy even. And he was happy for her.

Logan rolled over onto his side, letting his arm fall over the warm, petite waist of the body dozing soundly next to him, and drifted back to sleep.


	23. The Party, The Sofa, and Naked Guy

**AN: Umm, see, I told you I neverr give up on any of my stories. Even if it takes 3 years to write a single chapter.**

* * *

Rory sat down on the new sofa, course catalog in hand. It was well into shopping week and she still hadn't come close to deciding what classes she wanted to take this semester. It was overwhelming—and then there was her grandmother's grand redecorating scheme. She was distracted, but she needed to concentrate. If she made the wrong class choices it could affect her entire Yale career. If she took the wrong courses this semester, she might not have the pre-requisites required to take classes she wanted to down the line.

The sound of the door slamming interrupted her thoughts before she'd even had the chance to open the catalog. "Did you hear?" Paris asked, rushing into the common room.

"Hear what?"

"The first party of the year is going to be on our floor."

"Oh yeah?" Rory answered distractedly, smushing the throw pillows together and trying to get comfortable.

"Technically, it's to celebrate the first week of classes," Paris gushed, "but I'm anticipating the theme's quickly degenerating to, 'hey, walking works - let's drink.' The important thing is that this party, the first party, is going to be on our floor. Our floor."

"Yes, our floor," Rory agreed. Arguing with Paris was rarely worth the effort. She had learned that after three years of attending Chilton, and it was a very valuable lesson now that Paris had shocked her by showing up at her dorm room on the first day of classes and declaring herself to be Rory's roommate. It was best to just smile and nod, and let Paris keep talking. Rory stood up and walked into her bedroom to get a blanket.

"Anyhow, the way it works," Paris yelled after her, "is that anyone who wants to be a part of the party will just leave their door open so people can just wander in and out. So what do you think?"

"About what?" Rory returned and spread the blanket out over the couch. There was no way she could get comfortable on that couch if she was constantly afraid of spilling something on it. Emily Gilmore would crucify her.

"Leaving our door open," Paris clarified. "It's the perfect opportunity to solidify our social standing at Yale. It'll virtually guarantee invitations to every other party thrown this year, and we'll get our faces in people's heads."

"I don't know." Rory settled back down onto the couch.

"What? What don't you know? I've explained the entire thing to you," Paris replied, as though speaking to a small child. Condescension was only one of Paris's many wonderful personality traits. Rory had learned to ignore it years ago.

"Well, I'm not sure I want to leave our door open to a bunch of strangers."

"Well, they won't be strangers once they come in and say howdy," countered Paris, pulling up an ottoman and sitting down opposite Rory.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure how I'm gonna feel that night. I might be tired."

"For God's sakes, Grandpa, you're eighteen. Sleep when you're dead."

"Look, we can still go to the party. We can meet people, you can solidify your social status, get your face in people's heads, and I can bail when I feel like it."

"Going isn't the same," Paris argued. "Going is passive. Opening your door, you are giving the party. You are responsible for the fun. People owe you. Don't you want people to owe you?"

Rory rolled her eyes at Paris's tirade. As much 'Paris tolerance' as she had developed during high school, an entire year of living with the girl was going to drive her insane. "I'm good, actually."

"Oh, sure, you're good," Paris stood up and put her hands on her hips defensively. "You're fine. After all, you have all this fancy furniture and a big TV to lord over people. It's the rest of us who are screwed—the ones whose grandparents hadn't thought to provide suck-up furniture."

"This is not 'suck-up furniture.'"

"You're being selfish. You don't care about anybody but yourself."

"Paris," Rory warned

"No," Paris spat angrily, storming off towards the bedroom. "I hate college!" The door slammed and Rory let out a sigh. Yale was just so much fun already.

* * *

"Mate, over here," Finn shouted to Logan who had just emerged from suite 3 with a red, Solo cup full of Natty Ice. He grimaced as the beer made its way down his throat. He should have brought Mr. Flasky with him. He knew better than to rely on the crappy keg beer served at dorm parties and frats. He nodded at Finn and made his way across the hall to meet his friend.

"Hey, Mate," Finn greeted. "Come meet Madeline and Louise. They're from _Tulane_," he stressed the name of the school. Of course, living in another state was a positive quality in a woman as far as Finn was concerned.

"Hi," he greeted the blonde and the brunette with a tip of his cup and a charming smile. As cute as they were, he didn't really feel much like flirting with them; he had promised himself, though, that he was going to get over Rory Gilmore once and for all and that was what he would do. He may not have gotten back to his old self just yet, but he was acting like the old Logan again, and soon he would feel like the old Logan again—he was sure of it. The brunette seemed to have already staked a claim on Finn, her arm woven through his, so that left the blonde for him. It was better that way—the less a girl looked like Rory, the easier it was to try and forget about her. "What are two gorgeous ladies like yourselves doing in boring old Connecticut when you could be partying it up in N'awlins?"

The two girls gave each other a look that was clearly meant to communicate something, although Logan couldn't quite discern what it was.

Madeline turned back to him with a flirty smile, but snuggled up closer to Finn. "We went online to find out where all the first week of class parties were, and we're making the rounds."

Louise gave her friend another look. "Plus we have…friends here."

"Friends?" Was that what the secretive look was about? "Anyone I might know?" He grinned charmingly, briefly touching Louise's arm.

"Possibly," Louise evaded.

"Well anything they've told you about me is a lie—unless it's good," he chuckled.

This seemed to amuse the girls who broke out into giggles at whatever inside joke they had going on. "I don't know, we have some pretty trustworthy friends," Louise added once she had regained her composure.

"I'm sure," Logan placated. If their friends were anything like these girls, the only thing they could trust about them is that they'd flunk out of college before the first mid-terms. Still, they were cute and Logan wasn't in the market for substance. That wasn't what old Logan was about.

"Ooh," Madeline, squealed, craning her neck over Logan's shoulder. "Speaking of…Paris!" she shouted out, waving at someone down the hall.

"Hey, I know you," Finn said to whomever was approaching the group from behind. "You're the crazy CSPAN chick."

Logan's eyes went wide, putting Finn's information together with the name Madeline had called out a moment before—Paris. He turned around slowly coming face to face with Paris Gellar. He'd never met her up close and in person before, but he knew her without a doubt—Rory's best Frenemy.

"You!" an unhappy Paris accused, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

"The infamous Paris Gellar," Logan greeted—obviously fake smile in place—trying not to let thoughts of Rory get to him. It wasn't like it was actually his ex-girlfriend he was running into, just friends of hers—sort of. "We meet at last."

"What are you doing here?" Paris asked Madeline and Louise, giving Logan an evil glare, and then proceeding to ignore him. "Aren't you supposed to be at Mills?"

"Where?" Madeline asked coyly.

"Mills."

"Where?"

"Madeline!" Paris scolded.

"Mills sucked. Mills went bye-bye before I unpacked my shoes."

"She's been hanging out with me at Tulane," Louise clarified.

"I love New Orleans. I am so southern."

"And when the partying is over, then what? Are you going to sell Gumbo on a street corner for a living? I didn't carry your ass through four years of Chilton so you could become a college dropout." Paris was just about as terrifying as Rory had described her, Logan realized.

"Don't be such a buzz kill, Paris," Louise rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, Paris," Finn echoed. "Don't be such a buzz kill."

"I'm sorry, did you think I was talking to you, douchebag?"

"Rwar!" Finn growled, making his hand into a claw. "She's feisty," he said to Madeline who was still cozied up to his side.

"Just ignore her," Madeline advised.

"Yes," Paris agreed. "Ignore me and I'll go away—but I'm taking these two with me."

"I'm not going anywhere, I'm having fun with Finn," Madeline pouted.

"Yeah," Louise agreed, "and I was just getting to know Logan better," she added with a smile, stepping closer to him and looping her arm through his. "For example," she turned to Logan giving him a sickeningly sweet smile, "have you ever been in love?"

Logan's face fell and he took a step away from the girls. That was what the knowing looks had been about. They also knew Rory. They knew about him and Rory.

"What's going on here?" The voice was low but Logan heard it. What he heard most of all was the hurt. His eyes flickered up to meet cerulean blue. What was she doing here? Why wasn't she at Harvard? That had been the plan. After they broke up she was supposed to choose Harvard.

She diverted her eyes away from him quickly, focusing them on the two girls by their sides.

"Love!" Finn squealed gleefully, stepping away from Madeline and moving to embrace Rory. Rory stepped back, holding her hand up to keep him at a distance.

"Don't," she warned him. "What are you doing here?" The question was for Madeline and Louise.

"First week of school parties," Madeline supplied. "We're making the rounds."

"With…them?" she asked tentatively, pointing at the boys.

"Oh no, we just met them," Madeline bobbed her head obliviously. "But they're friends of yours, right? So how bad could they be?"

"I tried to stop them," Paris insisted, holding her hands up innocently. "Don't look at me."

"Rory," Logan interrupted, taking a tentative step towards her. She stepped away again.

"Don't talk to me," she warned without even looking at him.

"Ace," he tried again, his voice pleading. One look at her was all it took to make any thoughts of getting over her moot. One look at her and he needed her back.

Rory, however, could feel the tears welling in her eyes. She didn't want him back. She wanted him on the other side of the world. She wanted him to park his stupid yacht somewhere in Polynesia or something and never come back. What was he doing back? He was supposed to be sailing the world. It was so important to him that he had thrown away everything they could have had for it. It was more important than her and yet here he was, apparently discarding it as easily as he had her.

"Ace," he repeated, grabbing her softly by the wrist to stop her get away. "Can we just go somewhere and talk," he suggested.

Rory shook herself free, glaring at him hatefully. "I have nothing to say to you." She took a few faltering steps backward before turning and fleeing, past the partiers in her common room and into the safety of her bedroom.

Logan made a dash for the room behind her, but Paris was quicker, and she body blocked the entrance to the common room. "Don't even think about it, buster. She obviously doesn't want to see you and I applaud her on her excellent use of judgment."

Logan rolled his eyes at Paris's diatribe and tried to push past her, but the girl was freakishly strong for someone so tiny. She glared at him for a moment and then turned into the room without moving her body from the door. "Okay, everybody out. Now!" Paris screamed to the people in her room. She had been over this whole 'open door' thing an hour ago and the reemergence of Gilligan and his crew only sealed the deal. So far Rory was her only friend at this school and she wasn't going to let Rico Suave come breezing back into her life just to hurt her again. A depressed Rory was not a very good social contact. "Take your gross beer and your inane conversations somewhere else. Move!"

There was a pause by most of the party goers, and then a few shrugs and everyone began to file out. They could just as easily hang out in room two with the wait listed chick.

Paris had moved from the doorway to let everyone out and Logan tried to use this as his chance to slip into the room, but the mass of people coming through the door in the opposite direction was too much for him to get by. "What's going on here?" A bubbly voice asked. Logan turned to face Stephanie with an anxious look on his face. "Oh no," she repeated more soberly. "What's going on here?"

Logan let out a sigh. "Rory's in there," he admitted.

"What? I thought Rory was at Harvard."

Logan looked away guiltily. "What?" She asked him, hands on hips, waiting for an explanation.

"Right before I told her about the boat trip, she told me she'd decided on Yale."

"So you crashed the yacht on purpose so we'd come back early?" She screeched angrily.

"What? No! I didn't know she'd be here. She wanted to go to Harvard, she'd always wanted to go to Harvard. I thought she was choosing Yale for the wrong reasons, so I had to tell her we were leaving. I thought once she knew…"

"Wow, your ego is seriously even bigger than rumored. You really thought a girl like Rory would choose a school just because of you?"

"No, yes…I don't know, maybe."

"Ugh," Stephanie scoffed at her friend's stupidity. She couldn't stand to be around him. The mass exodus had slowed, and Stephanie's petite frame managed to squeeze through them into the common room beyond.

"Hey, Bimbo Barbie," an angry blonde girl shouted. "Party's over. Didn't you get the memo? Out!" Stephanie ignored her and went over to the closed bedroom door.

"Rory," she shouted, banging on the door. "It's me. Open up."

There was no response for a moment and then the door swung open, just a crack and Stephanie could see her friend's tear streaked face. "I don't want to talk to you, go away." Rory tried to close the door again, but Stephanie wedged her foot in the doorway. She winced as the door came in contact with her foot. Not that it hurt—at least not physically, but those were her favorite Louboutins. The things she did for friendship.

"It's just me, I promise. Logan's still out in the hall."

"I don't care," Rory cried. "_You_ were the one who pushed us together. _You_ made me fall for his stupid charm and you _knew!_ You knew he was going to leave me. Did you want him to break my heart? Because if so, super job."

Steph took a small step back in shock, realizing for the first time just how responsible she was for both Rory and Logan's pain. She felt awful. "I'm sorry," she said meekly.

"I don't care." And with that, Rory finally managed to slam the door.

* * *

Rory groped for the purple, terry cloth bath robe that hung from her chair, and threw it on as she waded through the darkness of her and Paris's bedroom, headed for the bathroom. She stopped midway through the common room as the sound of snoring registered with her. It wasn't coming from one of the bedrooms, it sounded like it was out in the hall. Curiosity getting the better of her, she followed the sound, heading towards the door of the suite. She turned the knob and jumped back in shock as a body fell backwards into her room, landing on her feet.

Logan stirred as gravity jolted him back into awareness. He rubbed his eyes and looked up into the shocked and still angry face of his ex. "Hi." He gave her his best smile as he picked himself up off the ground, standing to meet her.

She didn't respond.

"I knew you'd have to come out of your room eventually." He smirked.

She was about to slam the door in his face, but was interrupted by a loud snort, followed by a slightly more gentle snoring. Rory blinked in confusion. If the snoring she heard hadn't been Logan, where was it coming from? The two of them looked around, quickly spotting the source of the noise. A brunette boy lay prostrate on the ground across the hall; his shiny, white, unclothed bum standing out in the dim, fluorescent lighting of the hallway.

"Damn, I was hoping I'd be the first guy you saw naked," Logan joked. Rory glared at him, not finding it at all funny.

"Go wake him up," she whispered harshly.

"But he looks so comfortable."

"I can't believe you let him lay there like that all night," she hissed.

"I didn't know," Logan defended. "I was asleep too."

"You're such a jerk, Logan." She strode past him into the hall and over to the naked guy, but paused, unsure how to go about waking him—shaking him awake was definitely out of the question. She grabbed the dangling belt of her robe and tentatively swatted him with it before jumping nervously backwards. Logan chuckled at her adorableness and she turned to glare at him before turning back to naked guy to see that he was stirring.

"Hi," a hoarse voice greeted shamefully upon seeing her standing before him.

"Hi," she returned meekly.

"I'm…on the floor," he said, not moving to get up.

"You were sleeping," Rory explained.

He glanced down at himself briefly before looking back at Rory. "I have no clothes on."

"Nope," Logan chimed in, stepping up next to Rory, "Sorry, buddy."

Naked guy noticed Logan's presence for the first time and his humiliation grew, if that was even possible. The girl was bad enough, but she at least seemed sympathetic. The guy seemed like an ass. The girl ignored her companion.

"I'm on the floor, I have no clothes on…and what floor am I on?" he asked.

"The wrong one," Rory informed him with a look of regret. "Where's your room?"

"I think up. This is the first floor, right?" Rory nodded in agreement. "Then up. Any idea how long I've been here?"

Rory looked at Logan and he just shrugged. "Sorry."

"So you have no idea how many people have walked by while I've. . ."

"Nope."

"Great. Now for the rest of my time at Yale, I'm gonna be 'the naked guy.'"

" I'm sorry," Rory told him truthfully.

"And you know what's really great? Tomorrow, when the 'naked guy' nickname starts spreading around campus like wildfire, I'm gonna be in my third hour of throwing up."

" Well, it's been really quiet out here for a while now, so there's a chance that no one but us has actually seen you yet."

"Oh yeah?" The girl looked to her companion for conformation and then nodded at him.

"And I promise_ we _ won't say anything," she glared at the boy standing next to her which was a less than comforting gesture, but naked guy appreciated it all the same. "And if there's a chance that you could refrain from, you know, being naked again in the wrong hallway at the next party, then there's a chance you might get a completely different nickname, like 'the never-naked guy.'"

He chuckled nervously. "You're very kind," he replied, starting to stand up.

"Wait," Rory instructed. "Hold on. You can, uh," she shrugged her bathrobe off her shoulders.

"You can borrow this." She handed it to naked guy, and turned around to allow him to don it. Logan didn't turn around right away and Rory not so subtly nudged him.

"Oh please," Logan rolled his eyes at the semblance of modesty but turned around anyway. "Have you met my friends? This is not the first drunk naked guy I've come across, Ace." Rory crossed her arms over her chest and didn't respond.

Naked guy didn't know if this made him feel better or worse, so he just ignored the comment as he tied the robe into place. "Hi, I'm Marty," he introduced once he was decent.

Rory and Logan turned around again. "Rory," she introduced herself.

Logan looked at the man standing before them appraisingly. "Hey, don't I know you? Wait, don't tell me, I'm seeing a uniform of some sort…"

Marty groaned, realizing that he had in fact met this guy before. At least he was being remembered with clothes on though. "I uh…I bartended for one of your parties last week…I think."

"That's right, you did. You're a talented man." He turned to Rory. "Makes a kick-ass margarita."

"Thanks," Marty chuckled uncomfortably.

"Don't be an ass, Logan," Rory scolded him.

"Well," Marty interrupted, anxious to get out of there and end this nightmare. "I should probably try and find my room…and my pants, because that's where I kept my keys."

"So, pants first," Rory suggested.

"Right, pants first," Marty agreed, beginning to wander away.

"Night," Rory said to his retreating back.

"Yep," Marty mumbled as he headed up the stairs to his floor. "I'm officially stupider than my brother. I never thought that would happen."

When he was finally out of sight, Logan broke down in hysterics. Rory elbowed him painfully in the ribs. "Ow," he said.

"You are not to breath a word of this to anyone," she hissed.

"Oh, come on. It's not that big of a deal."

"It's a big deal to Marty."

"You don't even know Marty."

"I know he makes a 'kick-ass margarita,'" she mimicked Logan's earlier words. "It wouldn't kill you to be nice to people once in a while."

"And what do I get if I'm nice to your new bff, Naked Guy, and keep this to myself?" Rory's eyes shot daggers at him. "What? You want me to do something for you…" he suggested. "I should at least get dinner in return." Her withering stare didn't let up. "Lunch?" He countered. No response other then icy blue orbs. "Coffee," he suggested more meekly. She still said nothing. "Fine," he relented. "I won't say a word about Naked Guy."

Rory shook her head in disgust and walked back to her room, leaving Logan in the hallway. "You're going to forgive me eventually," he promised through the shut door. There was silence, and then the sound of the lock engaging. It wasn't a very friendly sound but Logan smiled anyway. Rory was back in his life whether she liked it or not, and for the first time in months he felt happy again.


End file.
